Josh Goodman is a former staff writer for GOVERNING..
E-mail: mailbox@governing.comTwitter: @governing
Health & Human Services
States Weigh Pot Reform
With the feds turning a blind eye to medical marijuana use, could states take pot reform a step further?
Related Articles
While political power has been shifting to the federal level lately, there's a clear exception. When it comes to policies on marijuana for medicinal use, the Obama administration has declared that states can decide for themselves.
Federal law prohibits marijuana possession, even for medicinal purposes. Some 13 states have gone ahead and permitted medical marijuana anyway, flouting the federal law and creating some legal ambiguity over the issue. Last year, the U.S. Justice Department cleared up the matter by announcing that medical marijuana won't be a focus of federal law enforcement in those states. That opens the door for even more states to allow marijuana use for medicinal purposes and may encourage a few states to reach even further.
Most current state laws allowing medical marijuana are the product of ballot measures, not legislative action. So one question for 2010 is whether legislatures will take up the cause. The first test wasn't promising for advocates: Lawmakers in New Hampshire fell just short of overriding Governor John Lynch's veto of a medical-marijuana bill late last year. Key votes could come soon in Illinois and New York, with law enforcement officials leading opposition to the proposals.
Some states are likely to go beyond the question of legalizing medical-marijuana use. Allowing retail sales of pot for medical purposes would be the next step. Only five states currently permit such sales; in the other eight states where medical marijuana is legal, users have to grow it themselves or have a caregiver give it to them for free. With the new federal policy, however, more states may decide that if they're going to allow people to smoke pot for medical reasons, they might as well allow it to be bought and sold for those reasons, too.
A few states, including California and Rhode Island, will consider something that the Obama administration has shown no inclination to tolerate: marijuana possession for recreational purposes. "This sort of reform is not going to start from the federal level," says Bruce Mirken, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, an organization that lobbies for looser marijuana laws. "It's going to start with the states, and the feds are going to be dragged kicking and screaming."
If you enjoyed this post, subscribe for updates.
Twitter: @governing
Latest from Health & Human Services
- Which States Accepted the Most Refugees in 2012?
- Millions of federal dollars flow every year through the states and a network of relief organizations to help refugees find housing, health care and jobs.
- Fact vs. Fiction: Arkansas' Game-Changing Medicaid Expansion Plan
- A lot of information is floating around about the state's first-of-its-kind plan to expand Medicaid under Obamacare. Arkansas' Medicaid director sets the record straight.
- Program Keeps Seniors from Unnecessary Psychiatric Admissions
- Too many times, state officials say, nursing home residents wrongly end up in psychiatric care.
- More States Explore Tanning Bed Bans for Teens
- California, Vermont and New York all enacted their bans in 2012, and in the current legislative session, lawmakers in 29 states have introduced measures that would tighten restrictions on teen tanning.
- Bill Linking Welfare to Grades Passes Tennessee House
- After a lengthy and passionate debate, a House committee approved legislation that would reduce welfare benefits for families whose children are failing school.
Jobs in Health
Browse thousands of available health jobs. Find a health job with detailed, free information on key career areas in health. Or post a job.
View or Post Health Jobs
Human Services Newsletter
Our monthly email newsletter offers an overview of developments and issues relating to the delivery of social services such as welfare and health care.
View Sample
Subscribe to GOVERNING Newsletters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
YouTube
Flickr
RSS
© 2011 e.Republic, Inc. All Rights reserved. |