There doesn't seem to be much going on today at the Georgia Capitol. The House and Senate go back into session tomorrow, and there are very few committee meetings today.
So I'll spend my time writing about things I didn't get to cover in detail during Friday's fast-paced crossover day. But, meanwhile, I think this is entertaining.
California voters will decide in November whether to legalize marijuana and tax it, giving the cash-strapped state an estimated $1.4 billion a year to help balance the budget.
Now, if California votes to legalize the possession of small amounts of weed, they will run afoul of the federal supremacy clause in Article VI of the U.S. Constitution. This, of course, is the same clause Georgia and other states will want to get around as they fight to exempt themselves from federal health care reform.
So, if California votes to legalize marijuana, and then tries to enforce that vote in court, west-coast pot smokers and Georgia conservatives will be making essentially the same legal argument against the federal government.
I find that hilarious.
2 comments:
This is not really news. Conflicts come up between states' rights and the federal government all the time. Think about gay marriage, abortion, education, desegregation... all of these have at one time or another been the subject of a dispute between federal authority and the rights of the states.
To pose an extreme situation like this -- essentially saying pot heads and teabaggers are on the same side of the battlefield -- is pure sensationalism, and does nothing to help clear the fogginess of the debate. If anything, it just blows more smoke at it, if you'll excuse the pun.
Sounds like Ashlee needs to take a toke and chill out.
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