4 ms·

Technically, any occurring "federally illegal" activity is just not successfully policed criminal activity. (States can't actually make something legal the fede

Technically, any occurring "federally illegal" activity is just not successfully policed criminal activity. (States can't actually make something legal the federal government says is not legal. They can just decline to use their own resources to police it.) Generally speaking, most people would consider "not usable in crime" to be a feature rather than a bug. ;)

sneak 6y ago
I don’t think there is as quite widespread consensus that all federal crimes are legitimately crime as you seem to think. Marijuana sales, for example, seem extremely popular. Just because there’s a law in place at some remote level of jurisdiction doesn’t mean it’s just, or has popular support.
- ocdtrekkie 6y ago
  Widespread consensus doesn't determine what is and isn't a crime. The law does. Until the federal law changes, marijuana sales are a federal crime. Technically speaking, no state can actually "legalize" it.
  - sneak 6y ago
    You’re absolutely right, of course. Widespread consensus heavily influences prosecutorial discretion though, which determines in practice what is or isn’t permitted by society. The law is not a computer program, and it is applied entirely arbitrarily.
- rumanator 6y ago
  > I don’t think there is as quite widespread consensus that all federal crimes are legitimately crime as you seem to think. Your comment makes no sense at all. For something to be a crime it has to be explicitly defined in law. Consensus has zero to do with it. Either there is a law, or there isn't. The whole point of rule of law is that you don't get to pick and choose which law applies to you in a given day of the week.
  - sneak 6y ago
    There are many marijuana shops in the United States, and many millions of customers of those shops who disagree with you. Also, Prohibition. The law is not some inviolate thing in a society. Many millions will happily ignore unjust laws if they feel they shouldn’t be laws. More alcohol was consumed during Prohibition in the US than before it was banned.
  - krageon 6y ago
    > The whole point of rule of law is that you don't get to pick and choose which law applies to you in a given day of the week. If the law is not enforced, then it does not exist. The only real law is the one that you see day-to-day. So shooting black people is fine (in the US), and you can buy weed in shops (in a few places).

sneak 6y ago

I don’t think there is as quite widespread consensus that all federal crimes are legitimately crime as you seem to think. Marijuana sales, for example, seem extremely popular. Just because there’s a law in place at some remote level of jurisdiction doesn’t mean it’s just, or has popular support.

ocdtrekkie 6y ago
Widespread consensus doesn't determine what is and isn't a crime. The law does. Until the federal law changes, marijuana sales are a federal crime. Technically speaking, no state can actually "legalize" it.
- sneak 6y ago
  You’re absolutely right, of course. Widespread consensus heavily influences prosecutorial discretion though, which determines in practice what is or isn’t permitted by society. The law is not a computer program, and it is applied entirely arbitrarily.
rumanator 6y ago
> I don’t think there is as quite widespread consensus that all federal crimes are legitimately crime as you seem to think. Your comment makes no sense at all. For something to be a crime it has to be explicitly defined in law. Consensus has zero to do with it. Either there is a law, or there isn't. The whole point of rule of law is that you don't get to pick and choose which law applies to you in a given day of the week.
- sneak 6y ago
  There are many marijuana shops in the United States, and many millions of customers of those shops who disagree with you. Also, Prohibition. The law is not some inviolate thing in a society. Many millions will happily ignore unjust laws if they feel they shouldn’t be laws. More alcohol was consumed during Prohibition in the US than before it was banned.
- krageon 6y ago
  > The whole point of rule of law is that you don't get to pick and choose which law applies to you in a given day of the week. If the law is not enforced, then it does not exist. The only real law is the one that you see day-to-day. So shooting black people is fine (in the US), and you can buy weed in shops (in a few places).