Question

In recent years, several states have adopted medical marijuana laws that create a number of exceptions to federal laws prohibiting the cultivation, possession, transportation, distribution, and use of cannabis. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 expanded federal authority to regulate drugs within the states based on the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Federal law does not recognize a medical exception thus creating tension between state and federal law. The tension remains because a case raising all of the pertinent issues has not been brought before the U.S. Supreme Court nor does the current administration plan to take up the issue. What are some federalism questions arising from this issue? Please help.

Answer 1

Federalists believe that power should be shared between the nation and its component states. In "Federalist No. 28," Alexander Hamilton wrote that the state an federal governments must work together to uphold citizens' rights. Because no case has been brought in the Supreme Court, the federal government has been undermining the authority of states who choose the legalize medical marijuana. For example, the Drug Enforcement Agency has raided farms in California which were legally sanctioned by state and local laws. In this way, they are limiting the rights of states and the rights of those states' citizenry. If a case were to be brought, then the states and the nation would be forced to back the Court's decision.