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¶ … Federal Government Control Marijuana Legalization?
Author's note with contact information and more details of collegiate affiliation, etc.
At least a quarter of the advisory is spent asserting the agency's drug approval authority, including the caution that seeking "to bypass the FDA drug approval process would not serve the interests of public health because [it] might expose patients to unsafe and ineffective drug products." Clear away the smoke from the advisory and you find that behind the battle over medical marijuana is the underlying power struggle pervading many of our health care discussions, from abortion to health care access to physician-assisted suicide.
Should the State or Federal Government Control Marijuana Legalization?
It is the opinion of the author that the control over marijuana legalization should be divided between both state and federal government. Power should always be divided. Division of power acts as a safeguard for the people and citizens. Division of power acts as their protection from a fascist...
Division of power could additionally serve as protection from one part of the government controlling one specific area of people's lives. It is American history for states to disagree on topics at the forefront of our culture. Slavery is an example. The recent bank bail-outs are another example. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are recent examples, as well. Americans disagree to the point where, as in the case of the Civil War, half of the country is willing to break off and become another country. Homosexual marriage is another recent issue, as is funding for Planned Parenthood. It is American nature to disagree. We cannot neglect the issue of prohibition. Who can imagine America without alcohol or an American in which alcohol is illegal? That would be akin to if…
A state should exercise the power to allow or not allow the legal use of marijuana within its borders. Gostin concurs as he states:
"Although states should be free to be inventive in the face of difficult social problems, they ought not negate federal authority to set national standards for health protection. Rehnquist Court's federalism jurisprudence rarely has protected innovate state experiments but rather has simply repudiated federal health and safety regulation. Not only has the Court thwarted federal regulation of firearms and violence against women, but it has also struck down environmental regulation and antidiscrimination legislation." (Gostin, 2005)
A state should be allowed to decide within what confines the legality exists. A state should also clearly define penalties for breaking such a law. If a state does or does not, by due process, pass a law approving legal marijuana use and possession, that state should be able to do that without interference from the federal government. What the federal government should be allowed to do is respect state authority. The federal government should also be the regulating body. The federal government should procure statistics from these states: if the statistics reveal marijuana use is totally destroying the state and causing everyone to hemorrhage money, and can with satisfaction on the state and federal levels, demonstrate that the
Although the decision does not invalidate laws in the 11 states that have approved medical marijuana, it does prevent protection from prosecution of users and doctors who prescribe the drug (Henderson). The 11 states that have legalized medical marijuana use include Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington (Medical). Eight states did so through the initiative process, while Hawaii's law was enacted by the
Another important aspect of the medical marijuana debate that many people are not recognizing is the potential for additional revenue. States are taxing dispensaries on their sales, and adding much-needed revenue to their coffers. Another writer notes, "Colorado is now the second state, behind California, to tax and regulate medical-marijuana sales, a move that comes on the heels of the Obama administration's decision in October to leave enforcement of laws
"You could say that anything that makes you feel better," Bock says, "whether chocolate or sex or invigorating exercise or a relaxing evening (depending on one's condition or circumstances), is good for you and could be viewed as medicine. Indeed, most Americans use the term 'good medicine' metaphorically and sometimes almost literally to describe some function or activity that promotes a sense of well-being" (131). Certainly, crack addicts would maintain
On the other hand, marijuana is still perceived as an addictive substance under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. It has been historically linked as a gateway drug to more serious substance abuse such as meth, heroin, or cocaine. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says that marijuana is the most widely used and abused illicit drug in the nation among both youth and adults; in fact 42% of high school
De Jong, Prentiss, McFarland, Machekano & Israelski (2005) note in one study that medicinal marijuana use may be particularly useful in patients suffering from HIV with moderate to severe nausea. There study points out that adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is an essential and critical component for successful treatment of HIV infections. Further a recent study conducted by the researchers suggest that smoking marijuana improves adherence to ART, and thus
However, a consideration of each element of that argument reveals that it is a flawed position. The most effective way of preventing minors from obtaining marijuana would be for government authorities to regulate and control its lawful distribution. There may be now way to ever guarantee that minors will not obtain marijuana, but that problem would be comparable to the current problem of minors obtaining alcohol and cigarettes. Given the