5 ms·

This is true, except the battle hasn't heated up enough yet to see whether this is actually true, with respect to Marijuana specifically, and then perhaps state

• civilian 10y ago
  I really really hope that California does something like this. Unfortunately, California Police don't have a history of supporting state law. When the feds were busting medical marijuana shops in California, they would routinely get help from local police, and the local police would act like their lapdogs.
• dpark 10y ago
  > except the battle hasn't heated up enough yet to see whether this is actually true In what way is it not decided? The US Supreme Court ruled in 1996 that the federal government can indeed criminalize marijuana. This isn't something that they left kind of unclear. A 6 to 3 decision affirmed that the congress can completely outlaw marijuana nationwide.
  • drvdevd 10y ago
    Clearly it's not actually a question then of what the supreme court decided in 1996, because marijuana is legal multiple US states now? Thus it is a classical state VS federal issue now.
    • dpark 10y ago
      It was literally the same issue in 1996. California legalized medical marijuana in spite of the federal government criminalizing it. The Supreme Court ruled that the federal government won over states' rights.
      • drvdevd 10y ago
        Sure, that sounds correct. And yet apparently the states have continued to ignore that ruling in a sense. So the onus is on the feds to enforce that law and the states can choose to fight such actions (or not to) in whichever way they please. The difference this time around is that the (legal) marijuana industry has significantly more political clout, social acceptance and financial muscle than 2 decades ago, so I see the states pushing back harder against the feds this time around.
        • dpark 10y ago
          That's all fine but this is decided law. The states could fight and potentially the Supreme Court could overturn precedent, but as of right now the federal government is 100% in control of the legality of marijuana nationwide. I actually don't see the Supreme Court overturning this precedent because it's relevant to too many other cases, such as outlawing fully automatic weapons. It's far more likely that congress could repeal or reduce its own regulations and leave this to the states. Supposedly both major parties should want this, since the right talks about states rights and the left want marijuana legalized for its own sake.
          • posterboy 10y ago
            on the other hand, owning a gun is close to attempted manslaughter, and that means no malintent, just accepting a not so faint possibilitt, whereas farming cannabis sativa has a magnitudes smaller, negligable possibility. Disclaimer: I'm currently biased, if you know what I mean.
            • dpark 10y ago
              > owning a gun is close to attempted manslaughter, and that means no malintent This is a pretty unreasonable statement unless farming marijuana is also "close" to giving drugs to children. I agree that machine guns are far more dangerous to allow in broad society than marijuana, but I don't think your comparison is very useful.
    • gozur88 10y ago
      There's no conflict between federal and state law here - marijuana is illegal under federal law and not under state law (depending on the state). This isn't an abnormal situation. There are lots of things that are illegal under state laws that aren't illegal at the federal level and vice versa. Marijuana is still a schedule 1 controlled substance under federal law, and you can be arrested by federal agents, who have jurisdiction in every state, for possession of any amount. It's not likely to actually happen, but it's another tool the feds can use if you annoy them. Personally, I don't see the constitution gives Congress the power to outlaw possession of anything unless that thing crosses state lines. But over the years the courts have supported an alternate view.
• kelseydh 10y ago
  There were many Federal arrests of state-sanctioned dispensary owners under both the Bush administration and the Obama administration. The Feds have changed to a more tolerant position now, but only after years of intense political pressure.