4 ms·

> I thought pot had been legalised in some states... what the states think is legal, and what the feds think is legal do not, and have never had to agree. the

> I thought pot had been legalised in some states... what the states think is legal, and what the feds think is legal do not, and have never had to agree. the feds have massively longer lists of illegal things than most states. state legalization generally has no effect on the feds.

pbhjpbhj 10y ago
It seems like that should be something to sort out. If it's possible for a State legislature to pass laws making something appear legal that is actually Federally prohibited doesn't that show that the Federation is broken, why doesn't the Federation fix that - either by saying States can't pass laws allowing Federally prohibited activity or by saying the State gets ultimate jurisdiction and only if the State hasn't established a law on something does the Federation's legislation take over. Presumably half the States would go one way and half the other?? Any insights for a European on this? AFAIU in Europe's not quite federated system European laws get ratified and become national laws in time (with selection and modification where the original law allows). That seems a natural and appropriate way to spread laws to member states.
- sigstoat 10y ago
  you might consider hitting up wikipedia or something to read about how the different layers of government in the US interact. > Presumably half the States would go one way and half the other?? if they want! > That seems a natural and appropriate way to spread laws to member states. allowing them to be differ from one another was part of the system's original goal!
- Balgair 10y ago
  Oh wow. Yeah, the laws here in the US are not like a lot of other places except maybe Australia. All of our states really are nations in their own sense that then submit certain rights and responsibilities to the federal government. Each state has it's own "army" too (we call it a national guard, again it's weird). When a disagreement between laws happens, which really is pretty often, like daily, then you go to the courts and typically the supreme court if things are really strange and complicated. For other people from other countries, it is a pretty weird system, we know. Umm, you may want to do some research on this stuff, as a HN comment is not even going to come close to covering all the important topics, and there are a lot of them. Essentially, the way it work in the US is that each state will do whatever the hell it wants to do until the Federal government forces them to stop, usually via some sort of money method, but occasionally via the military (bleeding Kansas, civil war, civil rights movement, etc). Our government works because we all hate each others' guts, but we hate equally. Most Americans are very happy/disgusted with the system, typically both at the same time. Again, we know it's strange.

pbhjpbhj 10y ago

It seems like that should be something to sort out. If it's possible for a State legislature to pass laws making something appear legal that is actually Federally prohibited doesn't that show that the Federation is broken, why doesn't the Federation fix that - either by saying States can't pass laws allowing Federally prohibited activity or by saying the State gets ultimate jurisdiction and only if the State hasn't established a law on something does the Federation's legislation take over. Presumably half the States would go one way and half the other?? Any insights for a European on this? AFAIU in Europe's not quite federated system European laws get ratified and become national laws in time (with selection and modification where the original law allows). That seems a natural and appropriate way to spread laws to member states.

sigstoat 10y ago
you might consider hitting up wikipedia or something to read about how the different layers of government in the US interact. > Presumably half the States would go one way and half the other?? if they want! > That seems a natural and appropriate way to spread laws to member states. allowing them to be differ from one another was part of the system's original goal!
Balgair 10y ago
Oh wow. Yeah, the laws here in the US are not like a lot of other places except maybe Australia. All of our states really are nations in their own sense that then submit certain rights and responsibilities to the federal government. Each state has it's own "army" too (we call it a national guard, again it's weird). When a disagreement between laws happens, which really is pretty often, like daily, then you go to the courts and typically the supreme court if things are really strange and complicated. For other people from other countries, it is a pretty weird system, we know. Umm, you may want to do some research on this stuff, as a HN comment is not even going to come close to covering all the important topics, and there are a lot of them. Essentially, the way it work in the US is that each state will do whatever the hell it wants to do until the Federal government forces them to stop, usually via some sort of money method, but occasionally via the military (bleeding Kansas, civil war, civil rights movement, etc). Our government works because we all hate each others' guts, but we hate equally. Most Americans are very happy/disgusted with the system, typically both at the same time. Again, we know it's strange.