Ten Times President Overruled Congress – Cannabis | weed | marijuana

The President may override Congress by executive order. This is how alleged President Joe Biden can legalize cannabis.

Presidents have abused executive orders for over a century. We’ve discussed this before. But has there ever been an example of the President blatantly overruling Congress?

Finally, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is a law passed by Congress.

Of course, rescheduling cannabis without Congress is an executive power grab. But abolish the law altogether? Or at least cross cannabis off the list?

We sympathize with those who want to follow the Constitution. But as the great American philosopher Lysander Spooner wrote:

“But whether the Constitution is really one way or the other, one thing is certain – that it either authorized such government as we had or was powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is non-viable.”

Here are ten examples of how the President overruled Congress.

10. President Trump overruled Congress

(AP Andrew Harnik)

In 2019, President Trump wanted military money for the US-Mexico border wall. Congress had passed a spending bill that didn’t give Trump what he wanted.

So Trump simply declared a national emergency on the southern border and pulled funds from the Department of Defense budget.

The massive incarceration of nonviolent criminals (most of them black) for cannabis is modern day slavery. In the prison system, many have to work for pennies. Isn’t this a national emergency?

Instead, Biden is repeating his “federal pardon” mantra as if someone were in federal prison for simple cannabis possession.

9. President Obama overruled Congress

In 2013, President Obama announced a one-year deferral of the Affordable Care Act employer mandate. This mandate, passed by Congress, forced certain employers to offer health insurance to their employees.

Obama used his executive powers to overrule Congress and give employers a year to prepare.

8. Obama overruled Congress again

In 2012, President Obama bypassed Congress by using his executive powers to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants.

While some say Obama’s actions were within his jurisdiction, others say that granting de facto legal status to a group of individuals requires congressional approval. What Obama didn’t have.

7. Abraham Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus

Is there a more blatant disregard for the powers of Congress than the suspension of habeas corpus? Lincoln did this during the War Between the States. He argued that this was necessary for national security.

The Constitution grants the government the power to suspend habeas corpus. However, that authority rests solely with Congress. Congress finally passed the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act in 1863.

But only after Lincoln took unilateral action.

6. Nixon’s confiscation of funds

President Richard Nixon conducted a practice known as confiscation. He would withhold expenditure approved by Congress for various programs. He would do this without Congressional approval in order to control federal spending.

Eventually, Congress passed the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which limited the President’s ability to override Congress and seize funds.

5. President Reagan lifted the congressional embargo

In the 1980s, Reagan violated the embargo imposed by Congress on Iran. In exchange for American hostages, Reagan sold arms to the Iranians.

4. President Clinton withheld information from Congress

Few remember that the Drudge Report exposed the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Without the early internet, the corporate press would probably have ignored the scandal entirely.

Today they would call it misinformation and use a psychologist against the American people to discredit genuine investigative journalists.

In any case, Clinton used his executive powers to withhold documents and information from Congress. Many saw this as an example of the President wanting to limit control by Congress.

3. President George W. Bush and the NSA

After 9/11, George W. Bush authorized unauthorized surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA). This blatantly overrode Congress’ power to oversee surveillance activities through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).

2. Presidents override Congress if they want war

Only the United States Congress has the power to declare war. But let’s count the number of times a commander-in-chief has engaged in a military conflict without Congress having issued a formal declaration of war.

• The Vietnam War (1955-1975)
• Gulf War (1990)
• Libya (2011)
• Syria (2014)

Not to mention the constant bombing of Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. Of course, critics will say that this is all legal since Congress passed the Authorization to Use Military Forces (AUMF) after 9/11.

And this law gives the President a blank check on who to bomb next.

Just another reason why the Constitution is “non-viable”.

1. President Biden overruled Congress

OK, you could say. Those are valid examples. But Biden is different. The senior president adheres to the constitution, even if his predecessors do not.

But this is blatant nonsense. In 2021, Biden revoked approval for the Keystone XL pipeline. He did so by executive order. It was one of his first official acts.

The project had been approved by Congress (bipartisan, at least). Even Biden supporters will admit and concede that this was a blatant disregard for the legislative process.

So if he can do it for oil, why not for cannabis?