Legalizing Recreational Marijuana

Since 1937, when the Marijuana Tax Act was passed, federal law has prohibited the medical and recreational use of Marijuana. This act banned its production and use in all states. In 2012, however, Colorado and Washington legalized recreational use of marijuana, becoming the first states to do so. This was a very controversial decision on the states’ part, and it created a debate between the two levels of government. The main cause was the issues of federalism and supremacy. While under the supremacy clause the federal government's law takes precedence to the state law, there is also a debate on which level of government, federal or state, should handle the issue of marijuana legalization. The complexity of federalism is shown very well here

allowing them to possibly do their own experimentation regarding the recreational use of marijuana. With this then being allowed in the states such as Colorado, the federal government could then focus on prohibition issues which are intact in the remaining states that have not legalized it (Chemerinsky, Forman, Hopper & Kamin, 2015). The federal government would

Recreational marijuana legalization in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska have, technically, broken federal law. As long as the federal government does not do anything about the state’s blatant disregard for higher law they can do what they want. I think that because state and federal law contradict at the moment there should be clarification. States should only be able to pass a law such as this if it is also legal on a federal level, but if there are no repercussions for violating federal law where does it end? Recreational marijuana is a state issue, in my opinion. If it is to be legalized in America at a federal level then each state should be allowed to choose their side. At this point, federal government is showing its cracks. 4 of our states are currently not obeying the Constitution; federal law trumps state law. Our government needs to pull itself together and start paying attention to what the states are doing.

A controversial topic often being advocated for by sitting governors is whether the legalization of marijuana is more beneficial or harmful to the economy. Marijuana, also known as weed, is a mixture of the dried and shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the cannabis sativa plant. It’s the most widely used illegal drug in the United States, even though studies have shown results that the benefits of using marijuana for medicinal or recreational reasons far outweigh the negative matters that may be associated with its use. While marijuana is still a controlled substance under federal law, thirteen U.S. states currently have compassionate use laws in place, which allow for regulated medical marijuana use. By legalizing marijuana, the government is helping the economy by reaping medical and financial benefits, not only at the state level, but also at the federal level. Taking into account the numerous studies done with marijuana on whether it is for recreational use or medical purposes, the government cannot go wrong in legalizing marijuana because of such an impact it will have. Marijuana should be legalized for recreational purposes because it will help society economically and socially.

The legalization of recreational marijuana is an important debate, one that could really cause drastic changes in societies. Marijuana has entered a dark stage in the pathway of legalization, and it is correlating with the prohibition stage that alcohol rested in. The debate can often reach a nasty level between individuals taking sides with the topic. Legalization of marijuana can be very beneficial under regulated circumstances, therefore making all of the negative views less important.

The topic of legalizing recreational marijuana in the United States has been a very controversial one. States such as Colorado and Washington have gone on the offensive and have legalized recreational marijuana and have enjoyed the high revenues brought in from cannabis sale. On the other hand other states have kept low profiles because they are wary of the possible negative outcomes of legalizing recreational marijuana and are using the states of Colorado and Washington as guinea pigs to see what their next course of action on this controversial topic should be. This is not only a highly debated topic among politicians, but also by the people. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center 52% of Americans

This paper will focus on the State and Federal marijuana legalization from three scenarios and analyze the retributive, commutative, and distributive justice of these three scenarios complex situations. First scenario will be a “recreational pot smoker, who lives in a state that recently legalized growing, possessing, selling, and distributing, through state-regulated dispensaries, limited amounts of marijuana for medical use”(Ashford University online school website,2013). Second scenario “a parent living in the same state, concerned that her 12-year-old will be

“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government, are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.” A common misconception among average Americans is that the federal government holds all governing power. Much of the laws and regulations that apply to a citizen are actually controlled by state governments, due to the fact that they are closer to the people and have better control of them, A significant issue in today's society is the usage, growing, selling, and buying of marijuana. The federal government has taken many measures in limiting and preventing the usage of marijuana, however, its jurisdiction over such a matter is highly restrained by one of Congress’s enumerated powers.

Five states have implemented way to minimize the amount of crime while people are still able to use. Even though the states have made this determination though a vote. The Federal government still sees it as a felony crime. Within the reform strict policies have been set in place. Should marijuana be decriminalized or legalized? Should there be restrictions based on age. There was an analysis done that compared five states that implemented major marijuana reforms. Evaluating their effectiveness in reducing marijuana arrests and their impact on various health and safety outcomes. The two types of reforms that were evaluated: all-ages decriminalization in the states of California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The other reform was 21-and – older legalization in Colorado and Washington. From the analysis out of the five states all five state experienced substantial declines in marijuana possession arrests. There were four states with available data that also showed unexpected drops in marijuana felony arrests. All- ages decriminalization more effectively reduced marijuana arrest and associated harms for people of all ages, particularly young people. The decriminalization in California has not resulted in harmful consequences for teenagers, such as increased crime, drug overdose, driving under the influence, or school drop outs. California teenagers showed improvement in all

These negative effects of marijuana being illegal at the recreational level can be fixed. There are solutions and benefits to these problems. The first and most important thing the state will have to do in order to legalize recreational cannabis is decriminalize the drug. If marijuana was decriminalized in the state of Minnesota, crime rates and arrest would decrease. According to Christopher Ingraham, a writer for the Washington Post said, “In Colorado, marijuana arrests fell by nearly half from 2012 to 2014. Marijuana possession charges in Washington state fell by a more dramatic 98 percent between 2012 and 2013. Alaska, Oregon, and D.C. show similar declines.” Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, and D.C. saw major benefits when they decided to make marijuana legal for recreational use. If Minnesota decriminalized marijuana, not as many people would be in jail, which would help with the over crowdedness in prisons in the state. Colorado alone has compiled several research studies demonstrating that legalization has not promoted an increase in violent crimes. According to research conducted by the Drug Policy Alliance “During the first year of the implementation of Amendment 64, Denver experienced a 2.2 percent decrease in violent crime rates and an 8.9 percent reduction in property crime offenses” (Heuberger). Decriminalizing cannabis will help our police department focus on more violent and heavy drug-related crimes. This evidence provides proof that legalizing recreational

According to article IV of the U.S. Constitution, the Supremacy Clause makes federal law become the supreme law of the land and forces states to follow the U.S. If there is a conflict between federal and state law, the federal law must be applied. However, in my opinion, there are a lot of bigger things that federal should be considered than more marijuana. Why I say that because I do not think marijuana can damage a lot for the nation. The big things federal should be deal are vehicles, unpredicted accident, crime, killers and natural disasters. So, let states could be able to regulate the legalization of marijuana by restriction of federal law. Nowadays, we know pot that helps a lot of chronic pain and be useful to many experts, the injured.

The legalization of marijuana has been a debate in the public eye within the United States for quite some time now; however, as time progresses many states continue to pass legislation. As of, March 2017, 26 states and the District of Columbia have laws legalizing marijuana use in some fashion and 24 remaining states with pending legislation. Although states are in debate for legalization it remains that federal law still prohibits any form of usage, selling, or buying. Federal law supersedes state law on this issue as it is written, “Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No” from the Legal Memorandum Published by the Heritage Foundation,

That need the marijuana will be prosecuted and will go to jail. Even though they need it. Marijuana can help people. There is many types of marijuana that are illegal and should stay illegal, but the medical should be legal, it has nothing wrong with it. It is a natural healer of the earth. It may seem that I am talking hippie, but it is natural and from the earth. It helps a lot of people. ALOT. they need the healing that the medical marijuana gives people. The government might even be able to control its sales and distributions. With it being legal the stores that sell the medical marijuana would have strict

Marijuana legalization becomes an issue of federalism because the constitution does not enumerate powers to the federal government to deal with it. This has led to both the federal government

Currently, possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana is often dealt with through a fine. However, this penalty will heighten as premiers and chiefs are in favor of zero tolerance, early enforcement, and early diversion and rehabilitation. Associations are concerned about any attempts to allow the medicinal use of the drug (King, 1999). We should be eliminating any thoughts of this drug being available.