"The use, possession, sale, cultivation, and transportation of cannabis is illegal under federal law in the United States." (wiki)
However, the vast majority of US states have decriminalized or legalized the use of marijuana/cannabis for medical or personal use under their state laws. Only states shown in white have state laws that fully criminalize the use and possession of cannabis, and all other states have legalized or decriminalized it to one degree or another:
In the US, however, federal law overrides state law. The fact that cannabis/marijuana is illegal under federal law means that all users and possessors and sellers in all states are breaking federal law when they use or distribute the drug, regardless of whether the state has voted to make it legal under state law.
At Obama's direction, his attorney generals have chosen to not enforce this federal law, and thus allow people to use and possess marijuana/cannabis if their state has legalized it.
However, incoming Trump appointee Jeff Sessions has a long history of being personally very strongly against the use and legalization of marijuana. Sessions has not ruled out choosing to use federal law enforcement to go after marijuana users in states that have legalized it.
Many of the states concerned have legalized marijuana use by ballot initiative, and therefore a choice by the Sessions/Trump administration to prosecute marijuana use in these states will be directly contrary to the expressed democratic will of the people in these states. However, given the way the government is set up in the US, with federal law overriding state law, the Sessions/Trump administration would have every legal authority for choosing to undertake such prosecutions.
So I am interested to see what conservatives and Trump/Sessions advocates in this forum think concerning whether the incoming administration should enforce the federal marijuana laws at the expense of the state laws...
However, the vast majority of US states have decriminalized or legalized the use of marijuana/cannabis for medical or personal use under their state laws. Only states shown in white have state laws that fully criminalize the use and possession of cannabis, and all other states have legalized or decriminalized it to one degree or another:
In the US, however, federal law overrides state law. The fact that cannabis/marijuana is illegal under federal law means that all users and possessors and sellers in all states are breaking federal law when they use or distribute the drug, regardless of whether the state has voted to make it legal under state law.
At Obama's direction, his attorney generals have chosen to not enforce this federal law, and thus allow people to use and possess marijuana/cannabis if their state has legalized it.
However, incoming Trump appointee Jeff Sessions has a long history of being personally very strongly against the use and legalization of marijuana. Sessions has not ruled out choosing to use federal law enforcement to go after marijuana users in states that have legalized it.
Many of the states concerned have legalized marijuana use by ballot initiative, and therefore a choice by the Sessions/Trump administration to prosecute marijuana use in these states will be directly contrary to the expressed democratic will of the people in these states. However, given the way the government is set up in the US, with federal law overriding state law, the Sessions/Trump administration would have every legal authority for choosing to undertake such prosecutions.
So I am interested to see what conservatives and Trump/Sessions advocates in this forum think concerning whether the incoming administration should enforce the federal marijuana laws at the expense of the state laws...
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