Posted on 07/16/2014 11:04:48 AM PDT by ConservingFreedom
In reaction to a proposed amendment to block decriminalization of marijuana in D.C., the White House Office of Management and Budget took a strong stance in favor of states’ rights.
Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland introduced an amendment that would prevent the D.C. Council from using any federal funds to enact pot policy changes, calling marijuana “poison to a teenager’s brain.” The D.C. Council has also released a statement condemning interference from Congress. The current legislation adopted by the Council replaces criminal penalties for marijuana usage with fines.
The marijuana amendment in the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill is just one of the reasons that the White House has announced its intentions to veto the whole bill if it ever passes through the Senate. The administration has previously refused to engage in legal action against Colorado or Washington for their legalization proposals, despite the fact that marijuana is still illegal on a federal level.
“The Administration strongly opposes the language in the bill preventing the district from using its own local funds to carry out locally-passed marijuana policies, which again undermines the principles of States’ rights and of District home rule. Furthermore, the language poses legal challenges to the Metropolitan Police Department’s enforcement of all marijuana laws currently in force in the District,” the Office of Management and Budget stated.
Mason Tvert, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, noted that Rep. Andy Harris’ justification for hindering the D.C. Council’s marijuana proposals is irrelevant, as the measure does not allow for teen use of marijuana.
“Nobody wants teens using marijuana, but the measure adopted in DC does not allow for teen use. A majority of Americans think that making marijuana legal would be a better approach to preventing teen marijuana use. Prohibition has failed to prevent teens from accessing marijuana and has resulted in hundreds of thousands of responsible consumers being arrested,” Tvert told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“We certainly commend the White House for making it clear that states should have the ability to establish their own marijuana policies. They should not be forced to maintain our federal government’s failed policy of prohibition. Voters in the District of Columbia have made it clear that they support ending marijuana prohibition, and their elected officials have taken action to move in that direction. They should have every right to do so,” Tvert added.
NOT for enforcing border security and arresting ILLEGAL UNDOCUMENTED DEMOCRATS. I live in AZ and we tried and Obozo and his unelected men in black said NO WAY ON THE STATE’S RIGHTS ISSUE.
Last I checked, DC was not a state.
Last I checked TSA said it wasn’t in the US. In this case, I believe them.
“A majority of Americans think that making marijuana legal would be a better approach to preventing teen marijuana use.”
Liberal logic 101.
Marijuana usage is a causatory factor in crime and leeching off of welfare, so any reasonable policy which protects the autonomy of the America taxpayer should lead to scorching marijuana fields existing in the US and securing the border on the south.
If it’s a State’s Rights issue, then Wickard v Filburn stands in violation of the Tenth Amendment.
The poison that is really effecting teenagers today is taking place in the classroom, the communist curriculum is poisoning the whole country, with no choice or chance to avoid it for most, but no one wants to pass a law against it.
Wickard v Filburn is in violation of the Constitution. As much as I despise drugs, including marijuana, I’m happy to see FedGov appealing to the 10th Amendment to adnave that pathetic cause. First, they are right - drug laws are not an enumerated power and are therefore a state issue. Second, the more we appeal to the 10th Amendment successfully, even on minor or negative issues, the easier it will be to appeal to the 10th Amendment when it matters.
Sooooooooooooo.....let me see if I have this right.....states have rights when it comes to marijuana policy....yet they don’t have the right to regulate marriage?
You are correct. DC is the headquarters of a corporation that owns and controls the US.
And before people get too tied up by his discussion of something not currently allowed, would anyone believe that we would be where we are now in this marijuana legalities and usage just 10 years ago? Rep. Harris is just trying to make something clear BEFORE they try to push the envelope AGAIN!
He's doing more than that - he's trying to prevent the D.C. Council from using any federal funds to enact pot policy changes.
No less true of alcohol - should we be scorching distilleries existing in the US
From first hand observation, I can tell you that pot use is seriously destructive to the educational process. Marijuana was virtually legal in CA in the 80s when my kids were in school there - you drove past the high school at lunch break and got a contact high, since the kids were allowed to sit outside and toke up, completely unbothered.
My son joined the Navy and got away, but a lot of these kids just destroyed themselves. There’s a word for that: “perma-stoned.” It really refers to a pot-induced psychosis. The people involved lose about 50% of their brain power and all of their personality and initiative. One of my son’s friends ended up spending his adult life (he died a couple of years ago, so that would be about 20 years) lying on a sofa watching reruns of Scooby Doo, despite the fact that his family sent him to recovery programs whenever they could afford it.
But his current use wasn’t the problem. By the time he was 18, his brain was so damaged that he honestly couldn’t recover.
Not everybody goes this far, but pot use seriously impairs teenagers, and I think the reason Obama is encouraging it (with a wink, wink, nudge, nudge policy of non-enforcement, just as he did with immigration) is because a stoned people is a dumb and submissive people. Not very productive, perhaps, but in the Muslim Socialist People’s Republic, they don’t have to be.
BTW, marijuana and hashish are very popular and evidently permitted in Muslim countries, and many of the jihadis are stoned out of their gourds.
Kids have been reporting for years that they can get illegal-for-adults pot more easily than legal-for-adults cigarettes or beer. Sellers of black market goods have no incentive to check IDs - another argument for legalization and regulation.
Harris remaining silent on alcohol is telling. There is no substance more destructive to a teen brain than booze. Whether impaired judgment, overdose, or drunk driving, booze is a much greater threat yet none of the Drug Warriors wish to take a stand against their precious drug of choice.
And then there is the legal speed, anti-depressants, pain pills, and all the other crap Docs like him shove down kids throat without even giving an afterthought to the consequences. Harris can take his medical background and shove it. Doctors are the biggest drug dealers in the country.
If we live our lives in fear of “what about the children” everything will be outlawed. I don’t want my “child” driving a 1000hp supercar or a high performance sport bike yet they remain available for adults. That argument falls apart rather quickly. The infantalization of America continues by both corrupt parties in this country and they can take their nanny state and shove it.
No, the question is, should we be admitting another and even worse problem?
Alcoholism is a problem, but most alcohol drinkers are not alcoholics and it leaves no lasting damage and in fact alcohol drinkers have lower rates of Alzheimer’s and other diseases that involve the brain. Alcohol has a long and honorable tradition worldwide, has artistic and religious value, and is generally no problem.
Pot has very permanent results even with fairly light use, especially among the most vulnerable group, young people. Marijuana is used legally in mostly Muslim countries (where alcohol is forbidden_, so if you want to see how great it is, go and look at their overall initiative, intelligence, industry...non-existent.
Marijuana has no social value whatsoever, tastes and smells bad, is damaging to the lungs, much more psychologically addictive than alcohol, and makes people very passive and stupid and easily manipulated. That’s why Obama likes it.
BTW, I have heard that certain people in the US are now discussing legalizing heroin and opium, the products of the Afghanistan Muslims. Two of the major tobacco companies just merged, and the rumor is that they want to get in on the pot and opium market on the ground floor, so to speak.
Wickard was ALWAYS a violation of the tenth.
That’s not an argument for legalization. Marijuana is much more portable than alcohol, and the kids will just have somebody else buy it for them.
Thank you.
Too many conservatives
are willing to ignore the Constitution's bindings on the government when they would interfere with their own ideas. They do not realize that for the Constitution to mean anything it must be honored especially when it is inconvenient.
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