Marijuana is illegal on the federal level.
I'm not sure about simple possession, but certainly growing it, and selling it.
So, how can states legalize marijuana cultivation (especially for recreational smoking, not medical, not by RX prescription) and selling this substance to the public?
Well, it's because the feds are looking the other way. They're not pushing the issue.
Why not? Because Democrats are in charge, and most dopers are young hippie types that vote solidly Democrat, and the Dems want to keep the potheads on their side.
It's political. Also, the liberals have been biyotching for years how "drug laws" are racist and have a greater impact against people of color. Now, it seems to me that most of the dopers flocking to Colorado and Oregon to get their high on are white, but the PERCEPTION may be that drug laws are the tools of racists.
So, by not enforcing them on anybody, the Obama administration is showing how racially enlightened they are.
Make no mistake-- if the feds wanted to raid all the "legal" marijuana growers and sellers in those recreational pot states, they could.
Federal courts would approve of sending the people running those operations into the federal prison system for several years per offense.
But the political fallout would be big for whatever party is in charge of the White House at the time those "letter agencies" make the offensive.
I'm not sure about simple possession, but certainly growing it, and selling it.
So, how can states legalize marijuana cultivation (especially for recreational smoking, not medical, not by RX prescription) and selling this substance to the public?
Well, it's because the feds are looking the other way. They're not pushing the issue.
Why not? Because Democrats are in charge, and most dopers are young hippie types that vote solidly Democrat, and the Dems want to keep the potheads on their side.
It's political. Also, the liberals have been biyotching for years how "drug laws" are racist and have a greater impact against people of color. Now, it seems to me that most of the dopers flocking to Colorado and Oregon to get their high on are white, but the PERCEPTION may be that drug laws are the tools of racists.
So, by not enforcing them on anybody, the Obama administration is showing how racially enlightened they are.
Make no mistake-- if the feds wanted to raid all the "legal" marijuana growers and sellers in those recreational pot states, they could.
Federal courts would approve of sending the people running those operations into the federal prison system for several years per offense.
But the political fallout would be big for whatever party is in charge of the White House at the time those "letter agencies" make the offensive.