Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General, et al. v. Angel McClary Raich et al.

Decided June 6, 2005. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 03-1454 · 545 U.S. 1 (2005) · Cited 1,051 times

Holding

Congress’ Commerce Clause authority includes the power to prohibit the local cultivation and use of marijuana in compliance with California law.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• Wickard v. Filburn · 317 U.S. 111 (1942)
• United States v. Morrison · 529 U.S. 598 (2000)
• United States v. Darby · 312 U.S. 100 (1941)
• Perez v. United States · 402 U.S. 146 (1971)
• Maryland v. Wirtz · 392 U.S. 183 (1968)
• Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc. · 452 U.S. 264 (1981)
• Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority · 469 U.S. 528 (1985)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. · 301 U.S. 1 (1937)
• Leary v. United States · 395 U.S. 6 (1969)
• Printz v. United States · 521 U.S. 898 (1997)
• Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States · 379 U.S. 241 (1964)
• Katzenbach v. McClung · 379 U.S. 294 (1964)
• Cohens v. Virginia · 19 U.S. 264 (1821)
• New York v. United States · 505 U.S. 144 (1992)
• Department of Revenue of Mont. v. Kurth Ranch · 511 U.S. 767 (1994)
• United States v. Moore · 423 U.S. 122 (1975)
• United States v. Wrightwood Dairy Co. · 315 U.S. 110 (1942)
• United States v. Doremus · 249 U.S. 86 (1919)
• Brecht v. Abrahamson · 507 U.S. 619 (1993)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Whalen v. Roe · 429 U.S. 589 (1977)
• United States v. Raines · 362 U.S. 17 (1960)
• Riley v. National Federation of Blind of North Carolina, Inc. · 487 U.S. 781 (1988)
• Houston, East & West Texas Railway Co. v. United States · 234 U.S. 342 (1914)
• United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative · 532 U.S. 483 (2001)
• United States v. Coombs · 37 U.S. 72 (1838)
• United States v. Booker · 543 U.S. 220 (2005)
• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 512 U.S. 622 (1994)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Gonzales v. Oregon · 546 U.S. 243 (2006)
• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius · 567 U.S. 519 (2012)
• Lopez v. Gonzales · 549 U.S. 47 (2006)
• United States v. Comstock · 560 U.S. 126 (2010)
• Morse v. Frederick · 551 U.S. 393 (2007)
• United States v. Kebodeaux · 570 U.S. 387 (2013)
• Sackett v. EPA · 598 U.S. 651 (2023)
• Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn. · 584 U.S. 453 (2018)
• Gamble v. United States · 587 U.S. 678 (2019)
• Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm'n v. Elec. Power Supply Ass'n · 577 U.S. 260 (2016)
• Gobeille v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. · 577 U.S. 312 (2016)
• Zivotofsky v. Kerry · 576 U.S. 1 (2015)
• Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União Do Vegetal · 546 U.S. 418 (2006)
• Rapanos v. United States · 547 U.S. 715 (2006)
• Haaland v. Brackeen · 599 U.S. 255 (2023)
• United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc. · 599 U.S. 419 (2023)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2005). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).