Homework Question on Marijuana Law
- Investigate the conflict between California law and federal law pertaining to Marijuana.
- How do County governments differ in enforcing the law?
- What are the laws in your city/county regarding medical Marijuana use?
Homework Answer on Marijuana Law
The legality of marijuana in the United States of America is a paradox. Whereas the federal government banned the use of marijuana with no exceptions, different states across USA have their own laws pertaining to the use of marijuana. Despite the ban with no exceptions on the use marijuana by the federal government, there has been a lot of controversy regarding the medical value of the drug. With regard to the purported medical value of marijuana, some states allow the cultivation and consumption of marijuana for medical value.
However, some states have so far legalized the use of marijuana for not only medical value but also for recreational purposes. This paper examines the conflicting marijuana law in California State and the federal government, and explores how county governments differ in enforcing the marijuana laws.The main conflict between the federal law and the California state laws pertaining to marijuana is the fact that the federal state law holds that marijuana is among the controlled substances, and that it is illegal with no exemptions.
On the other hand, California state law has exemptions when the drug is used for medical purposes. The 1970 federal controlled substances Act classifies marijuana as a substance that is likely to be abused with no known medical value (Congressional Research Service 2). In this Act, any marijuana cultivation, use, or possessing marijuana is a federal crime subject to prosecution. The California state law decriminalized medical marijuana, which offers protection to the using, possessing, and cultivating marijuana for medical purposes.