As of November 6, marijuana is legal in the states of Washington and Colorado. For those in these states who have been illegally using the drug or struggling to get it via medical marijuana permits, this is good news. However, for the federal government, it’s pretty bad news.
According to the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is considered a Schedule I controlled substance. For those of us who are unfamiliar with legal jargon, a Schedule I controlled substance is a drug that is not considered legitimate for medical use. To be able to use it legally, a special permit is needed. The latter part of that definition explains the legality of medical marijuana in some states. However, with this new amendment in place that legalizes the recreational use of marijuana, the federal government has a real bone to pick.
What the states of Washington and Colorado have done is make marijuana a commodity much like tobacco and alcohol. They will be able to tax the drug, allowing the state to make money from the commercialization of marijuana. The problem here is the federal law. Kevin Sabat, former senior advisor at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, told the Christian Science Monitor, “Federal law is federal law; it’s pretty black and white.” There is no way around it; the states that legalize marijuana are going to have to deal with the Federal Department of Justice which will make “efforts against large commercial grows or retail sales or states making money off the laws,” according to Sabat.
However, for those in favor of the amendment, there is hope. The United States Department of Justice is postponing any action against either Washington or Colorado until the states have had a chance to set a regulatory system. It will take some time, probably up into 2014 before the lawmakers of each state will establish the rules of legalization of marijuana, which will basically cover how and where the drug can be sold. The feds will kindly bide their time, and wait for the regulations flub to swoop in and start a lawsuit. Such sweethearts.
The argument for nationwide legalization of marijuana is not a bad one. There are very logical reasons to legalize it. For one, marijuana has been proven to be, medically, no more harmful than tobacco or alcohol, and it actually has shown medical benefits for cancer patients. As a legal commodity, weed could be taxed like cigarettes or alcohol, and could contribute to tax revenues. Legalizing it would also lower crime rates, and cause drug dealers to lose all of their business. Police and court resources would also be freed up for more serious crimes. On the other end of that, young people who would not be stamped with a lifelong record as a felon for having over an ounce of marijuana in their position.
However, the opposing argument against the legalization of marijuana holds water as well. Statistics show that marijuana is often a gateway drug leading to abuse of harder drugs like heroin or cocaine. Driving under the influence is a huge problem, which could get worse if marijuana is made legal. Also, legalization would make it easier for minors to get their hands on weed. There is also the slippery slope argument, where some believe that to legalize one drug might create opportunity for all drugs to be legalized, which would, of course, cause wide-spread anarchy, and basically all hell to break loose.
Here’s my dilemma: this controversy is no longer about marijuana itself. It has turned into a battle of the states versus the federal government, as if the battle couldn’t carry over into enough aspects of our everyday lives. The drug itself is not as big of an issue as the idea of states undermining the federal government. My question is this: why even allow the measure to be on the ballot, if the right to make changes to one’s own state constitution can be taken away? •
Not a bad write up, but “legalization would make it easier for minors to get their hands on weed” is absolutely inaccurate. When I was a teen in high school, it was far easier to obtain some weed than to obtain even a cigarette or a single beer. Surely, I cannot be the only one to experience this.
After a minor learns that the government was lying to them about marijuana, it stands to reason that the government is also lying to them about heroin. This is the biggest danger from the fraud that the government is creating with their grossly incompetent scheduling of marijuana.