Shea 1 Drew Shea Mr. Bennion AP Government and Politics 7 December 2013 Regulation of Marijuana: Whose Authority is it?

With a system of government so complex, no wonder problems emerge over such controversial issues. Thanks to Federalism, it leaves the unanswered question of whose authority is it to regulate Marijuana? Our Founding Fathers certainly could not have predicted such a dispute over a drug which is why they left the Constitution as an elastic document. However, they did leave certain hints and clues as to what they wanted to come out of this situation. The Founding Fathers subconsciously left the authority of regulating marijuana to the state governments. To begin, one reason why regulating marijuana is meant be left the States is simply because nowhere in the Constitution does it say that marijuana is to be regulated by the National government. Thus, it implies that this power to regulate marijuana is a reserved power- leaving all powers that are not specifically stated in the Constitution to the states. As a reserved power, the states should be able to then choose if they want to legalize it altogether, legalize it for medical use, or keep it illegal. Secondly, a basic principle that has integrated itself into federalism is the belief that states are not to act strictly under the power of the National government as this would resemble more of a unitary system of government. The very system our Founding Fathers wanted us to avoid. The idea that a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country, is a key virtue specific to federalism. This virtue applies to the States regulation power as marijuana can be seen as the experiment in this case. If the United States is looking to maintain a federal system that is familiar throughout our history, then this power should be left to the states.

Shea 2 However, the National government may argue they have the power to regulate it based on the Drug Enforcement Agencys claim that it has no proven medical uses. As a result, the National government could say that they are promoting for the general welfare of its citizen by regulating marijuana. But in many cases, people have concluded that marijuana is the only drug available that provides effective treatment after they have tried many other conventional drugs. Thus, if the people believe it to help, then the government should not interfere which would leave the choice up to the states. Lastly, States should be the regulating body for marijuana simply because they are closer to the people. As the virtues of federalism revolve around the people and the power that is given to the government by the people, they should be allowed to choose if they want marijuana legalized or not. According to Pew, it was 52 percent of people who want Marijuana legalized. Thus, majority should rule in this case, leaving the people to choose through the use of an initiative. This would then leave the choice up to the state, not the National government. Also there is so little the National government can do to enforce their regulations on marijuana if the States are not even complying with the National regulations to begin with. In conclusion, the power to regulate marijuana should be left in the hands of the State governments. With a prestige that must be upheld, the people of the United States cannot let this precious system of Federalism slowly slip away any more than it already has.