Marijuana, Reasonable Or Ridiculous

The Legalization of Marijuana, Reasonable or Ridiculous? The legalization of marijuana has been a controversial topic for many years. Marijuana is classified as a Substance I drug, making the government refuse to revoke the regulations put on it that state it is illegal. The federal laws on marijuana possession, use, and sales are clear and are blanket laws for the entire nation. However, this causes a tension between state and federal authority because those laws encroach on the states’ ability to make laws that affect their own individual state. The issue of federal versus state authority, over the issue of legalization, prevents some states from legalizing it due to possible repercussions by the federal government. Marijuana should be

This produces an issue because the federal government does not have a right to tell the states what they can implement into their own laws, yet the same goes for the states. States do not have the authority to overrule Federal law (Marijuana and the Controlled Substance Act). However, the federal government does not have the authority to tell the states that they cannot pass a law that falls under their authority given to them in the Constitution. (Vertical Federalism, Horizontal Federalism, and Legal Obstacles to State Marijuana Legalization Efforts). Parts of legislation bring up the issue of vertical federalism, questioning the allowance for states to build national power while they still have power within their states on a day to day basis. Other parts of legislation question horizontal federalism, the way that states’ governments relate to one another (Vertical Federalism, Horizontal Federalism, and Legal Obstacles to State Marijuana Legalization Efforts). According to Professor Robert A. Mikos, the Controlled Substance Act has prevented states’ laws that allows its residents to purchase and use marijuana freely. However, he says that the CSA doing that “crosses the line” into taking over the state government forcing it to abide by the federal rule (Preemption Under the Controlled Substances

The reason marijuana is considered an abuse drug is because of its addictive qualities and it “lacks any redeeming qualities” (Preemption Under the Controlled Substances Act). However, there is no evidence cited in various medical journals that state that there specifically harmful qualities held within marijuana. It is also stated that as a classified Substance I drug it has no accepted medical uses and effects. However, it is relatively widely accepted for medical cannabis (Medical Cannabis: From Legal to Illegal to (Sometimes) Legal