Conflicting Marijuana Policies and the Policy Process.
Numerous states have passed legislation allowing for the recreational use of marijuana and more than half the states have legalized it for medical use. Twenty-one states have decriminalized the drug and a recent Quinnipiac Poll indicated that 71 percent of voters felt that the federal government should not enforce drug laws in states where marijuana is legal. However, under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA), marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug, along with heroin, ecstasy, and LSD. CSA states that these drugs have listed above have “no currently accepted medical use in the United States” and “a high potential for abuse.” The CSA also specifies that the cultivation and distribution of marijuana are felonies and violations may result in asset seizure by federal agencies. When the legalization of marijuana issues first emerged, the Obama Administration had to make choices. First, it could invoke federal preemption and enforce federal legislation (which would, of course, anger many members of the president’s base that had voted to re-elect him). Second, the Justice Department could decide to do absolutely nothing with regard to enforcement of federal law as it related to pot. Third, it could argue that states, long viewed as the laboratories of democracy in the U.S., should have the flexibility to make decisions regarding of the use of marijuana within their respective borders (thereby putting forth a state’s rights perspective with regard to this issue). In the U.S. federal system of government, power is divided between the national government and the states. Each state has the authority to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens. Under this scenario, local governments, which are creatures of the state government, can be called upon to enforce state and local laws that conflict with national policy. In fact, state and local law police departments are the entities that do the bulk of marijuana law enforcement. The states of Washington and Colorado have approximately four times as many state and local law enforcement personnel within their borders than there are Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents throughout the world. Also, keep in mind that neither Congress nor the president can compel state cooperation. If state and local agencies do not wish to cooperate, the federal government must enforce its marijuana laws through federal agencies. The Department of Justice under Obama sought to clarify the federal enforcement of marijuana laws in states that have legalized marijuana possession by indicating that it was going to focus its attention on the production, distribution, and trafficking of pot. Under guidelines issued by the Obama Administration, the Department of Justice agreed not to enforce federal laws in states where the drug was legal as long as they followed certain guidelines, such as not selling to minors and steering clear of drug cartels. As a result, marijuana sales totaled nearly $7 billion by 2016 and the expectation by market researchers is the industry will reach sales of $22 billion by 2021.