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New York City Transit Authority v. Beazer
The Court upheld a transit authority's ban on methadone users working, finding it did not violate equal protection.
Todaro v. Ward
The court held that consistent delays and denials of medical care in prison can show deliberate indifference. This means systemic failures in care can be unconstitutional, not just isolated incidents.
Whalen v. Roe
The Supreme Court upheld New York's prescription drug registry, finding that data collection to prevent drug misuse does not violate privacy rights.
Estelle v. Gamble
The Supreme Court ruled that deliberately ignoring a prisoner's serious medical needs is unconstitutional. However, medical negligence alone, without intent, is not a violation.
United States v. Moore
The Supreme Court ruled physicians treating addiction can be prosecuted under the Controlled Substances Act if their prescribing practices fall outside accepted medical standards.
Ravin v. State
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that adults have a constitutional right to privacy to possess and use marijuana at home. This right stands unless the state proves a compelling reason to intervene.
People v. Broadie
The Court of Appeals upheld mandatory life sentences for narcotics sales. It ruled that severe, inflexible penalties for drug offenses were not unconstitutionally disproportionate.
United States v. Bass
The court held that Demerol addiction is relevant to an insanity defense. Bass's conviction was reversed because the government did not rebut expert testimony.
Cudnik v. Kreiger
A 1974 case ruled that denying pretrial detainees prescribed methadone treatment violated due process. The court ordered jail officials to allow detainees continued access to their approved methadone programs.
United States v. Kiffer
The court upheld marijuana distribution convictions, finding Congress's drug classification was rational. The law includes a mechanism for future scientific reassessment of the drug's status.
State v. Kanter
The Hawaii Supreme Court upheld marijuana criminalization, finding its classification as a narcotic did not violate due process or equal protection. Dissenting justices emphasized privacy.
People v. Lorentzen
The Michigan Supreme Court found a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence for marijuana sale to be cruel and unusual, ruling it disproportionate and ineffective for nonviolent offender rehabilitation.
People v Sinclair
The Michigan Supreme Court overturned a marijuana conviction, ruling that classifying cannabis as a narcotic violated equal protection, as scientific evidence showed it less harmful than opiates.
Papachristou v. Jacksonville
The Supreme Court struck down a vague vagrancy law that allowed arbitrary arrests of marginalized people, including addicts. The ruling found the law lacked due process.
People v. McCabe
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that classifying marijuana with hard narcotics and mandating a 10-year sentence for its sale violated equal protection due to a lack of rational basis.