Nicole Hellier
Professor V. Aikhionbare
POS 1401
25 March 2013
Federal vs. States
Recently in Florida news, voters are debating about the topic of legalizing medicinal marijuana. But one thing these voters should really focus on is if this is possible. As of 2012 sixteen states, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana (“Medical”, 1). Although in these states medicinal marijuana is legal, we don’t just live under the state law. We also live under a larger law, the federal government. “In 1996 activists in California, led by Dennis Peron, organized a ballot proposition to legalize medical marijuana. Proposition 215, also called the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, passed by 55.58 percent of the vote. The proposition, as later expanded, allows patients to grow, possess, and collectively distribute marijuana for personal medical use on the recommendation of a licensed physician” (Medical, 1). Still, the federal government threatened to sanction or prosecute physician...