A recent CATO Institute blog that talked about the success of the marijuana legalization movement in the mid-term elections failed to mention exactly how these reforms have come into fruition: because of state-level disobedience to the federal government.
From the blog:
Alaska (52-48%), Oregon (54-46%), and the District of Columbia (69-31%) all passed ballot initiatives that legalize marijuana under state (district) law. This comes on top of the 2012 legalizations in Colorado and Washington…
In January 2017, the country will have a new president. That person could order the Attorney General to enforce federal prohibition regardless of state law. That seems unlikely if more states legalize and public support expands.
They’re right when they say it “seems unlikely” if more states legalize. The fact is, the feds have already been trying to enforce federal prohibition, but they’ve failed. There has been more money spent and more federal raids under President Obama than any president in U.S. history. But, with more and more states standing up and saying no, that increase in enforcement can’t get the job done.
They just don’t have the manpower.
By the time 2017 rolls around, it will not make a difference what the President does. Let the federal government try to enforce their senseless marijuana ban. The feds will only look silly, and likely, pretty evil in the face of a majority of states defying them.
The people and the marketplace are overwhelming the will of the drug warriors. As marijuana proliferates, this will only become more evident. Better yet, this type of behavior will serve as the blueprint for resistance on other issues too.
There is nothing that we cannot accomplish when we have the right approach. Begging the tone-deaf out-of-touch bureaucrats in Washington D.C. to get their act together hasn’t worked. However, the victories in Alaska and Oregon – along with other states in previous years – show that some Americans are rediscovering their rights and learning the right method to actually stop federal programs.
That is, state-level action, not federal.
Join the movement to throw off the federal shackles on not just drug policy but EVERY unconstitutional issue. We must demonstrate our strength at the lower levels of government in a manner that forces the feds to change their misguided ways. We are on the cusp of something great. Help us take our cause to the next level.
