By Timothy Rush
Marijuana legalization is the latest trend sweeping the nation.
Before 2010, no state had legalized marijuana for public recreational
consumption, but within a single decade, 11 states have lifted their
prohibition on the herbal drug. While marijuana has been slowly
legalized state-by-state, the federal prohibition on marijuana must also
be overturned.
When states first began the push to legalize marijuana during the
Obama administration, Obama himself came out and stated that his
administration wouldn’t pursue action against these states. If you are
confused about that, don’t worry; it’s you and everyone else. Even
though many have gone through a proper democratic channel and changed
their state laws, federal laws have remained untouched.
Under the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is classified as a
schedule 1 substance. This means that marijuana, under federal law, is a
highly addictive substance, has no safe use and has no genuine medical
advantage. Furthermore, under the same act, schedule 1 substances are
prohibited and subject to federal prohibition. Then add on top of that
the federal supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution and under an
extensively anti-legalization administration we could see the complete
rollback of all these reforms across the country.
It’s not just the rollback that worries many marijuana advocates, but
also the tight regulations that keep many marijuana distributors and
users in a bind, even for the states that have legalized marijuana for
both recreational and medicinal use.
The first is the changes between states. Marijuana legalization is
something that has been occurring state-by-state, so something that you
can legally do in one state can earn you several years in prison in
another state. Furthermore, just because you bought your weed in
Michigan doesn’t mean that you can still use it in Pennsylvania. Not
only will you get caught on possession, but you could also be charged
with trafficking contraband across state lines. And because of the
common-sense regulation in many states that have legalized it, it is
illegal to drive while under the influence of marijuana and be under the
influence in public. So don’t think you can also get away with using
and then making the drive back home.
But those are minor inconveniences compared to some of the actual
consequences for many people living in states that have legalized. For
instance, if you’re a parent in a state with legalized status, you may
think that it’s no different from drinking alcohol or lighting up a
cigarette. You’d be wrong.
In fact, already there have been children
taken away from parents, due to the parents using marijuana.
This is
because of the federal laws regarding marijuana, but also because its
classification leads to your home being designated as high-risk for
children.
One horrific tale is that of Savannah Lackey, a California resident
who was growing marijuana with a prescription. She did everything that
the state required her to, including attending a meeting with a sheriff
to brief on legal growing. This didn’t stop the raid that came upon
Lackey’s home, where not only was her weed seized, but her child was
forcibly removed from the home and put into protective services.
Others are also affected. Distributors often face incredible
obstacles to maintain their business.
Because, on a federal level, are
illegal, it is extremely difficult to pay taxes. Yes, even though
marijuana is federally prohibited, they must pay taxes to the federal
government. This includes the taxes their business pays and the taxes
taken out of paychecks. This has forced many distributors to do
everything through cash payments only, to avoid the potential charge of
money laundering because they can’t use a bank to keep their money that
is, again, gained through criminal means.
If you’re an employee of a company, as in most people, you can very
well lose your job.
Many companies still wish to maintain compliance
with federal regulation, which makes sense.
So even if you’re in a legal
state, failing a drug test could result in you losing your job. You
could be using marijuana in a manner that is fully legal by your state
and still lose your livelihood because of federal prohibition.
The solution is obvious: Make the Obama Era policy of not putting
resources towards fighting legalization a thing of the past. The federal
prohibition must be overturned through definitive legislative action.
This prohibition has a troubled history of racism and punitive
punishment for nonviolent offenders, as well as ineffective enforcement.
The time has come to put it to rest and indeed make it a state issue.
If politicians want it to be a state issue, then let’s make it a state
issue.
We should remove the federal prohibition and let states legislate
this matter as they see fit.
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