Over and over again, we’ve watch the same debates play out in different places. Should it be legal? Should it be legal only with a prescription? Should it be totally illegal?
There seems no end to the varying opinions on this. Marijuana is a controversy that just won’t go away. As someone who believes the war on drugs is completely outside the scope of the Federal Government, I firmly believe that there should be no Federal level regulations on any drugs. However, the states still have the power to make laws, and they are not constrained by the US Constitution in the way the Feds are.
In Washington State, Marijuana became legal for medical use, with a prescription and a handy-dandy medical marijuana card so you can show the cops that yes, indeed, you’re allowed to have this, a couple of years ago. The state goofed, however, and never codified the system for distribution. This left a giant gaping hole for the Feds to wander in, ignoring the fact that Washington had passed legislation allowing medical marijuana. There have been numerous Federal Raids of dispensaries that popped up since the legalization, and the Feds continue to arrest and prosecute more individuals all the time.
It’s high time (pun intended) that the powers that reside in Olympia get in gear and define exactly what the correct and legal method for purchase, sales, transport, and possession of medical marijuana is, so that there can be clear state laws to prevent Federal Agents from raiding indiscriminately. While most people are unaware, State law actually trumps Federal law in all but a very few, strictly defined matters. The Federal Government is constrained by the Constitution in what it’s allowed to do, and while they don’t follow the laws as they are supposed to, if a State were to stand up for itself and say “hey, this is OUR law, it’s OUR power, stay out!”, there wouldn’t be a whole lot the Feds could do about it.
Washington needs to set the example, pass legislation defining exactly what the mechanisms are for legally obtaining, selling, transporting, growing, harvesting, using, controlling, or possessing marijuana are, and part of that legislation needs to include a clause making it illegal for any employee, official, agent, officer, or representative of this state, or any county, city, or municipality within it, to assist the Federal Governments enforcement of their own illegal drug laws within our borders.
The time has come, Olympia. Stand behind your decisions, stand up for your citizens, and stand firm against the Feds. We are a free state of free people, and DC needs to be reminded of that.
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