marijuana

Just a couple months ago, the sale and possession of legitimately medicinal marijuana was legal under California state law but illegal under national law. However, as of October 19, 2009, the Justice Department, speaking on behalf of the national government, announced that it would no longer prosecute legal users or dispensaries. But before stoner-heads everywhere rejoice, let it be understood that marijuana can still be banned on the state, county, and city levels.

For those that don’t understand how medicinal marijuana can be illegal in California under district and city law but legal under national and state, here is a brief explanation: we, as United States citizens and residents, actually live under not a single government but multiple: national, state, county, city, and so on. To each specific government, we delegate a certain number of our powers. For example, to the national government, we delegate the power to make war. To the Arcadia city government, we delegate the power to legislate and enforce parking regulations. Thus, the national government deals primarily with national and global matters, and the city government, with local. However, these governments’ scopes of influence occasionally overlap, and where there’s overlap, there is often conflict between competing sovereigns, as can be seen in California a couple months ago, when the national government prosecuted legal medical marijuana dispensaries and users and state government did not.

But now that the national government condones medical marijuana in states where it is legal, many state and local officials are now pushing to regulate or even eradicate the sale and possession of medical marijuana. Whereas most state and local officials once believed that national law would be enough to discourage the substance’s presence, many are now taking it upon themselves to control it.

The state government of California seems actually to be moving in the direction of loosening restrictions on marijuana. [more research must be done…]

However, the Arcadia city council passed a couple months ago an ordinance banning the sale of medical marijuana in the city. As Councilperson Harbicht noted, “As far as my stance, I voted in favor of the ordinance banning the sale in Arcadia.”

[still waiting on my interviews with the rest of the city council, much more to come]

Just a couple months ago, the sale and possession of legitimately medicinal marijuana was legal under California state law but illegal under national law. However, as of October 19, 2009, the Justice Department, speaking on behalf of the national government, announced that it would no longer prosecute legal users or dispensaries. But before stoner-heads everywhere rejoice, let it be understood that marijuana can still be banned on the state, county, and city levels.

For those that don’t understand how medicinal marijuana can be illegal in California under district and city law but legal under national and state, here is a brief explanation: we, as United States citizens and residents, actually live under not a single government but multiple: national, state, county, city, and so on. To each specific government, we delegate a certain number of our powers. For example, to the national government, we delegate the power to make war. To the Arcadia city government, we delegate the power to legislate and enforce parking regulations. Thus, the national government deals primarily with national and global matters, and the city government, with local. However, these governments’ scopes of influence occasionally overlap, and where there’s overlap, there is often conflict between competing sovereigns, as can be seen in California a couple months ago, when the national government prosecuted legal medical marijuana dispensaries and users while the state government did not.

But now that the national government condones medical marijuana in states where it is legal, many state and local officials are now pushing to regulate or even eradicate the sale and possession of medical marijuana. Whereas most state and local officials once believed that national law would be enough to discourage the substance’s presence, many are now taking it upon themselves to control it.

The state government of California seems actually to be moving in the direction of loosening restrictions on marijuana. For example, back in 1996, the state passed the Compassionate Use Act, permitting individuals to possess and cultivate marijuana for medical purposes under limited circumstances. Then in 2003, the state passed Senate Bill 420, also known as the Medical Marijuana Program. This legislation clarified the scope of the Compassionate Use Act by defining the voluntary medical marijuana identification card program that protects carriers’ option to possess a certain, limited amount of medical marijuana.

However, the Arcadia city council passed a couple months ago an ordinance banning the sale of medical marijuana in the city. As Councilperson Amundson explained, “The Arcadia City Council saw the issue of Marijuana dispensaries as an issue some time ago and acted proactively.” The Council’s reasoned that because the Compassionate Use Act and Medical Marijuana Program do not mandate cities to allow medical marijuana dispensaries, and because research suggests the presence of medical dispensaries encourages increased levels of crime, it had not only the legal means of banning medical marijuana, but also the responsibility to do so.

Councilperson Harbicht further illuminated the Council’s thoughts when he added, “The vast majority of the marijuana dispensed is not going to people who have a medical need for it; it is going to people who are using it recreationally. Whether marijuana should be legalized and controlled like alcohol is another discussion entirely. But "medical" marijuana is, quite frankly, a joke to anyone who is in the know about the subject. I recognize that there are a few people who might benefit from the use of marijuana in a medical sense, just like there are people who benefit from hundreds of other controlled substances. Why do we treat marijuana differently than other therapeutic drugs? I don't know.”

So, then, the bad news for medical marijuana users: dispensaries are illegal in Arcadia. What’s more, though the national government decided to stop prosecuting legal users of medical marijuana, it’s still technically illegal under federal law.

Just a couple months ago, the sale and possession of legitimately medicinal marijuana was legal under California state law but illegal under national law. However, as of October 19, 2009, [Oct. 19] the Justice Department, speaking on behalf of the national government, announced that it would no longer prosecute legal users or dispensaries. But before stoner-heads ["stoner-heads"] everywhere rejoice, let it be understood that marijuana can still be banned on the state, county, and city levels.

For those that don’t understand how medicinal marijuana can be illegal in California under district and city law but legal under national and state, here is a brief explanation: we, as United States citizens and residents, actually live under not a single government but multiple: national, state, county, city, and so on. [it looks a little funny having a statement with a colon following a colon] To each specific government, we delegate a certain number of our powers. For example, to the national government, we delegate the power to make war. To the Arcadia city government, we delegate the power to legislate and enforce parking regulations. Thus, the national government deals primarily with national and global matters, and the city government, with local. However, these governments’ scopes of influence occasionally overlap, and where there’s overlap, there is often conflict between competing sovereigns, as can be seen [was seen] in California a couple months ago, when the national government prosecuted legal medical marijuana dispensaries and users while the state government did not.

But now that the national government condones medical marijuana in states where it is legal, many state and local officials are now pushing to regulate or even eradicate the sale and possession of medical marijuana. Whereas most state and local officials once believed that national law would be enough to discourage the substance’s presence, many are now taking it upon themselves to control it.

The state government of California seems actually to be moving in the direction of loosening restrictions on marijuana. For example, back in 1996, the state passed the Compassionate Use Act, permitting individuals to possess and cultivate marijuana for medical purposes under limited circumstances. Then in 2003, the state passed Senate Bill 420, also known as the Medical Marijuana Program. This legislation clarified the scope of the Compassionate Use Act by defining the voluntary medical marijuana identification card program that protects carriers’ option to possess a certain, limited amount of medical marijuana. [Your first sentence makes it sound like since the national government stopped persecuting legal marijuana users, California has began loosening restrictions, but you support it with acts from a few years ago, before the Justice Department made their announcement.]

However, the Arcadia city council passed a couple months ago an ordinance banning the sale of medical marijuana in the city. [I would say: A couple of months ago, however, the Arcadia City Council passed an ordinance...] As Councilperson Amundson explained, “The Arcadia City Council saw the issue of Marijuana dispensaries as an issue some time ago and acted proactively.” The Council’s reasoned that because the Compassionate Use Act and Medical Marijuana Program do not mandate cities to allow medical marijuana dispensaries, and because research suggests the presence of medical dispensaries encourages increased levels of crime, it had not only the legal means of banning medical marijuana, but also the responsibility to do so.

Councilperson Harbicht further illuminated the Council’s thoughts when he added, “The vast majority of the marijuana dispensed is not going to people who have a medical need for it; it is going to people who are using it recreationally. Whether marijuana should be legalized and controlled like alcohol is another discussion entirely. But "medical" ['medical'] marijuana is, quite frankly, a joke to anyone who is in the know about the subject. I recognize that there are a few people who might benefit from the use of marijuana in a medical sense, just like there are people who benefit from hundreds of other controlled substances. Why do we treat marijuana differently than other therapeutic drugs? I don't know.”

So, then, the bad news for medical marijuana users: dispensaries are illegal in Arcadia. What’s more, though the national government decided to stop prosecuting legal users of medical marijuana, it’s still technically illegal under federal law.