Posted on 12/09/2012 1:36:06 PM PST by John Semmens
On November 6 voters in Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana. Use of marijuana still remains illegal under federal law. A federal task force composed of representatives from the Justice Department, the DEA, the State Department, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy is considering how to respond.
Attorney General Eric Holder brushed aside all substantive debate over the merits of legalization saying that “it’s not up to us to prove that marijuana is harmful in order for us to enforce the federal ban on its use. The simple fact that federal law trumps state law is sufficient grounds for us to suppress this drug.”
Whether federal law trumps state law on this issue may not be a “simple fact.” Legalization of marijuana would appear to be within the purview of states under the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution. This Amendment reserves powers not expressly delegated to the federal government in the Constitution to the states.
Holder, however, rejected this argument. “Essentially, the 10th Amendment is a dead letter,” Holder said. “As the Civil War demonstrated no power asserted by any state can stand against the might of the federal government. The idea that we would stand aside while states seek to profit from legalizing pot is mistaken. We will arrest anyone caught producing, selling, or using this substance. Any funds earned or taxes collected from the production, distribution, or use of marijuana will be seized. This drug is not legal until we say it is.”
if you missed any of this week's other semi-news/semi-satire posts you can find them at...
http://constitutionclub.org/2012/12/08/semi-news-a-satire-of-recent-news-45/
Qat for all Mankind.
True, and the same applies to conservative drug warriors.
Let me ask you, do you think the feds should honor the Tenth Amendment and let WA and CO carry out their policies?
Democracy. The only drug worse than meth...
So do you think fedgov should abide by the Tenth Amendment in the case of WA and CO?
Just use a vaporizer. No smoke, easy on the lungs, no smell and your stash lasts longer too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.