The development of human society is a complicated process. It is usually accompanied by various complications and ambiguities in which people wonder what is right or wrong, what is moral or immoral. The American society is one of the brightest examples of the problems that mankind can face on its way to wellbeing and prosperity. Throughout its history, the United States of America faced serious challenges connected with slavery, racism, sexual and religious discrimination, etc. Needless to say, United States faced political and social challenges as well, and the disputes over federalism and over the legal use of marijuana in medicine are still the most burning and controversial issues in the USA. This paper focuses on the consideration and assessment of federalism and the use of marijuana for certain medical purposes.
Federalism is the form of the political structure which is currently used in the United States. According to Greenberg & Paye (2005), “federalism is the system under which significant government powers are divided between the central government and smaller units, such as states” (p. 44). Drawing from this, Greenberg & Paye (2005) claim that the country is “full of governments” (p. 44) as besides the central federal government, there are similar units of the executive power in all other levels of the country’s structure including states, counties, cities, and other smaller units. The roots of federalism, according to Greenberg & Paye (2005), can be observed in US history and in the demographic composition of the country (pp. 45 – 46). Concerning the former, the rights of every state that formed the United States in 1776 are defended by the Constitution, and this creates the grounds for federalism in the modern United States. As for the latter, diversity is another basis for federalism as Greenberg & Paye (2005) argue that this form of political structure is usually observed in large, densely, and diversely populated countries like the USA (pp. 45 – 46).
Analyzing the ideas on federalism as presented by Greenberg & Paye (2005), it is necessary to state that this form of political structure has its pros and cons. The former includes the freedom of every significant unit in the country whether it is a county or a small settlement in a suburban area. Thus federalism is a free-loving political structure. At the same time, federalism is the way to confusion as the complexity of governments and court systems complicates how the country and its citizens can interact. Therefore, federalism is an acceptable political structure but its implementation demands care and attention to the smallest details.
Speaking of American social life, it is impossible to ignore another controversial point in it, i. e. the legalization of medical use of marijuana, which is also connected to the issues of federalism. According to Rouke (2007), since the very foundations of American politics in the late 18th century, the power of states to regulate their local, internal matters was acknowledged and unconditionally admitted by all states (p. 16). However, the recent events in California present the alleged case of federal law abuse of power in the purely state-related, local issues. The fact that California alongside the ten other states legalized marijuana use for medical purposes based on the 1996 Compassionate Use Act has been recently confronted by the 1970 Controlled Substance Act (CSA), according to which the regulation of drug use and distribution for any purposes is in federal jurisdiction (Rouke, 2007, p. 17).
Thus, Rouke (2007) exemplifies his argument with the Raich vs. the United States case after which the Supreme Court considered growing and using marijuana for medical purposes to be legal for Angel Raich as the state laws of California allow it and there was no commercial incentive in Raich’s actions (p. 30). The assessment of this situation involves understanding the principles of federalism according to which state and other governments have freedom and power but the federal law is supreme over them. According to this idea, the arrest of Angel Raich was purely lawful as the regulation of drug use is in federal law jurisdiction and Raich acted according to her state, California, laws. Basically, no dispute could arise from the situation but the above-mentioned complexity of the federalist system manifested itself in the case where federal and state laws were confronted.
Drawing from the above facts and considerations, it is obvious that federalism is a rather controversial and complicated political structure and the dispute over the legalization of marijuana use for medical purposes in 11 states including California illustrates this point once rather vividly. The advantage of federalism is the freedom it gives to all the segments of the country including counties, states, cities, etc. The drawback of this political structure is the confusion that emerges in controversial situations when there is a need to define which law, federal or state, is supreme in any particular case.
Works Cited
Greenberg & Paye, America’s Democratic Republic. NY: Pearson Longman, 2005, pp. 44 – 50.
Rouke, John T. You Decide: Current Debate in the American Politics. NY: Pearson Longman, 2005, pp. 16 – 30.