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- Apr 28, 2011
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The federal government should stay out of it entirely. Per the Tenth Amendment, it is none of their business.
When we, as a nation, wanted to ban alcohol on a national level, we correctly recognized that no legitimate authority existed to enact such a ban on the national level, and that the only way to do so legitimately was to amend the Constitution in order to establish this authority—hence the Eighteenth Amendment.
Having never similarly amended the Constitution to give the federal government any authority over marijuana or other harmful recreational drugs, it is acting illegally whenever it involves itself in this issue.
I do not favor legal status for marijuana, but I recognize this as an authority that rightfully belongs exclusively to the states and to lower levels of government.
Any state that wishes to legalize marijuana has the authority to do so, and the federal government has no authority to interfere. Similarly, any state that wants to completely outlaw it has that authority, and again, the federal government has no authority to interfere. Lower levels of government—counties, cities, towns, and such—may have their own laws, as long as they don't violate those of the state.
What about veterans through the (FEDERAL) VA? What about citizens who want to purchase a hunting rifle? What about people who want to obtain a concealed carry permit? What about people who want to apply for TSA Known Traveler IDs? The list goes on. If the law isn't changed at the federal level it still directly affects Americans at the state level even if marijuana is legalized medicinally and/or recreationally at the state level.