Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Reconciling American Marijuana Policy In A Federal System, Catherine Morton

Global Tides

The recent successful ballot initiatives in Colorado and Washington to legalize recreational marijuana despite restrictive federal law continue to demonstrate the disconnect between national and state marijuana policy. In order to understand how many of these national policies were enacted, an investigation will be presented of the discriminatory history of marijuana legislation, indicating the inconsistent nature of past regulation. Thus following will be an examination of relevant Supreme Court cases depicting the Supreme Court’s ultimate hesitation to prevent the states from circumventing federal marijuana law. Finally, a discussion will be held on the ramifications of inconsistent state and national policies, …