Federalism Assignment – Marijuana Legalization

Many government textbooks describe one of the benefits of federalism as “the ability for individual states to serve as public policy laboratories, providing insights on how well different policies actually work when taken from theory to practice.” An example? Weed. Colorado legalized marijuana in 2014 – sort of. Colorado Amendment 64 passed in 2012, allowing adults to grow marijuana plants, and to possess up to an ounce of cultivated pot. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but the U.S. Justice Department outlined in this memo that it doesn’t intend to enforce the federal ban. How has this worked out for Colorado? It depends on who you ask. Denver now has more marijuana dispensaries than liquor stores and Starbucks combined. The state government of Colorado is collecting millions in taxes and license fees. Still, employees can still be legally fired for testing positive for marijuana, and federal tax laws are written to punish sellers At least one business is relocating to another state because so many employees came to work stoned. Is this an experiment worth trying in Texas? In 2019, Texas legislators considered S.J.R. 8 to legalize and regulate marijuana in Texas. Write our standard 2 – 5 page essay (double-spaced, normal font and margins, etc.). What would be the advantages and disadvantages of approving a law like Colorado’s? What happened to S.J.R. 8 this year? How would you have voted if you were a state legislator? Why? Submit in Word. Cite your sources. Additional Resources The Texas Tribune looked at this issue in July, 2018, and includes some polling: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/07/26/texas-legalize-marijuana-2019-legislative-session/ (Links to an external site.) KSAT (San Antonio) has this update on the issue: https://www.ksat.com/health/medical-marijuana/what-are-the-chances-texas-will-legalize-medical-marijuana-in-2019 (Links to an external site.) The Dallas Observer is cautiously optimistic: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-morning-news-criticized-for-their-dangerous-words-11426770 (Links to an external site.) A more cautious step than full legalization might be simply de-criminalizing small amounts. Here’s a radio interview with a Rice University drug policy expert about that option: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/houston-matters/2018/11/28/313224/will-texas-loosen-its-marijuana-laws-in-2019/ (Links to an external site.) What if you deposit the money from your “legal” dispensary in a bank. Can’t the federal government seize it? Can state-run banks get around this problem? http://www.governing.com/week-in-finance/gov-state-run-cannabis-bank.html (Links to an external site.)