C04257 Local Government

In the case of United States of America, it is a widely misconceived notion that the same Federal Government runs that country and the same laws apply to all the states. The United States is a collaboration and collection of small states (Monte, Zane & Heard, 2015). With regards to marriage, education, abortion, there are differences in the laws that are followed. The Federal State has the authority to deal with issues that are plaguing the Government. The burning issues are many and it is the sole responsibility of the State Government to ensure a smooth governance. One example of this rule of application of different laws and regulations in different states is the rule regarding marijuana (Crockett, 2014). The laws and regulations are implemented by the state government and it is the sole responsibility of the State to ensure that these laws are applied uniformly. There are several states and the Washington DC that allow marijuana, there are different laws in other states that deal with the legality of marijuana. The federal Government does not legalize the use of pot and the Government is very strict (Campbell, Twenge & Carter, 2017). The scheduling system classifies marijuana as a schedule 1 drug. The schedule 1 drug is perceived to be of high medicinal content and is perceived to save health and lives. Marijuana also has a high potential to be abused. Under the Federal Laws, marijuana is put in the same bracket of restrictive drugs like heroin that have the potential of causing immense harm. Meth and cocaine have been put on the schedule 2 because they are considered to be immensely abusive and are also considered to be harming the people. In cases of categorizing of drugs in different schedules, it is done so to prove that both the drugs are abusive and have the potential of causing harm (Pacula et al., 2015). The drugs in these categories are not equal but are equally harmful. Some states have legalized marijuana whereas in some states marijuana is illegal. In Colorado, the Denver Kush Club legalizes recreational marijuana. In Colorado, the customers are allowed to use recreational marijuana. The law is not the same in case of Texas. In Texas, possession of weed is illegal. In case of comparison of the two states, it is clear to understand that the laws in Texas and Colorado are not the same in relation to weed. In Colorado, if a customer buys an eight ounce of weed in Colorado, it will not be a punishable offence, whereas if a customer scores eight ounce of weed in Texas, the person shall be penalized and will also be imprisoned (Dioun & Haveman, 2017). In Texas, even if a customer purchases 2 ounces of weed, he shall be awarded severe punishment.

These two states prove that laws are different in these 2 states and that these are the prime example of application of different laws and regulations in two different states. Therefore these two states are illustrating a nation that is divided on the basis of legalization of marijuana. Though in Colorado, the law is awaiting an assent of the Congress, the people in that state are already enjoying the legalization. The law on marijuana in Colorado is dicey, as it has not openly decriminalized marijuana, it has not legalized the same. In the United States of America, twenty seven states and the District of Colorado have approved the application for legalization of Marijuana.

The difference between federal law and state law is that under the United States of America, every state is considered to be a sovereign and they are considered to be entities that have their own sovereignties. The federal law is created by the federal Government and it shall be binding upon all the states in the United States. Though the federal laws are applicable on all the states, there are a few exceptions where the federal laws shall not be applied. There are instances when the state law and the federal law conflict each other. Instances have been such when the state law has prevailed over a state law (Bradford & Bradford, 2016).

The reason behind the legalization of marijuana in some states is because the schedule where marijuana finds its mention whereas in some states marijuana does not get any legal accord because the medicinal benefits of marijuana are overlooked or not given proper acknowledgment. Though some state laws have legalized the use of marijuana and there are no chances for a customer to go to prison for the use of marijuana, in some states, marijuana has been legalized for having recreational or medicinal purposes. The federal law in general does not recognize the use of marijuana as legal and therefore as a general rule, no citizen is allowed to possess marijuana.

References

Bradford, A. C., & Bradford, W. D. (2016). Medical marijuana laws reduce prescription medication use in Medicare Part D. Health Affairs, 35(7), 1230-1236.

Campbell, W., Twenge, J., & Carter, N. (2017). Support for marijuana (cannabis) legalization: untangling age, period, and cohort effects. Collabra: Psychology, 3(1).

Crockett, T. (2014). Legalization of Marijuana.

Dioun, C., & Haveman, H. (2017). Pricing Conflict: Legal Regimes, Uncertainty, and Price in Medical Marijuana Markets. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2017, No. 1, p. 17381). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.

Monte, A. A., Zane, R. D., & Heard, K. J. (2015). The implications of marijuana legalization in Colorado. Jama, 313(3), 241-242.

Pacula, R. L., Powell, D., Heaton, P., & Sevigny, E. L. (2015). Assessing the effects of medical marijuana laws on marijuana use: the devil is in the details. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 34(1), 7-31.