Posted by Tina
Shortly after the state of Arizona passed an immigrations law that mirrored federal laws on immigration the Department of Justice took offense and chose to sue Arizona and her governor, claiming that the law was interfering with responsibilities that are under federal purview. The debate continues in this political season as the legal system works to sort through the charges and counter charges to settle the issue.
Meanwhile, another possible conflict in federal and state laws are making folks wonder, “Why hasn’t the DOJ filed suit against the State of California for passing the medical marijuana law?” It’s a fair question. Does the suit in Arizona, as well as the lack of filing in California, suggest political motivations? I think it does.
More pressure may be brought to bear on the DOJ in November if Californians support Proposition 19, the “Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010”. Passage of this proposition will make marijuana completely legal. Chris Battle of US News & World Report has the story and quotes former heads of the US Drug Enforcement Agency who find themselves scratching their heads:
“Such a state law will violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and will be void,” states the former administrators. “Indeed, the [Controlled Substances Act] itself clearly states that federal law preempts state law when there is a positive conflict with the established federal law.” ** “We note that the Department of Justice acted quickly to assert the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause in the recent suit to declare null and void certain provisions of an immigration bill passed by the state of Arizona,” they noted in the letter to Holder, which was publicly released during the news conference. “We would expect the Department of Justice to act just as swiftly and for the same reason … to prevent Proposition 19 from becoming law.”
So what do you think…if it passes will prop 19 be challenged by the DOJ or will Eric Holder continue to play politics in the Justice Department?
Maybe Eric Holder could do a two-fer with California, and file a case/claim against San Francisco for their ‘Sanctuary City Policy’ as well. There by proving a basis to the courts that California is a ‘progressive minded’ trouble maker of sorts.
OOPS I forgot this is a Liberal voting State and the Democrats in current power still need the votes verse defending the hassle of defending selective attention to State mandates.
Good comments Harold! lol
Sadly, this isn’t about justice or upholding the law, if it was there would be no lawsuit in Arizona and California would be out of the marijuana cultivation business. Can you believe we have a lower standard on drugs than Mexico?
Harold You nailed it…and the DOJ!
Well, I guess one difference is that immigration is an international issue between two countries and cannabis is medicine in California.