US Supreme Court Justice says federal marijuana laws are obsolete

Although the lawsuits on Capitol Hill, aka Congress, may not be able to pass a marijuana reform bill this year – and rest assured, they are seriously unable to get it through – one of the has Most conservative US Supreme Court justices released a statement about the federal marijuana ban that could make them look like clowns because of their inactivity.

On Monday, Judge Clarence Thomas said that marijuana laws in the United States had lost any meaningful function and were no longer needed.

“A ban on the interstate use or cultivation of marijuana may no longer be necessary or appropriate to support the federal government’s piecemeal approach.” he wrote.

Photo by Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images

In other words, it makes no sense for the federal government to continue to enforce separate rules for the cannabis plant if it continues to allow states to operate fully legal markets. The statement was in response to a case involving a marijuana company in Colorado and how the IRS will not allow deductions like other legitimate companies. The nation’s highest court decided not to take the case, but Thomas would not let it go without offering his two cents on the matter.

“Federal politics over the past 16 years has severely undermined their reasoning,” continued Thomas. “Once broad, the federal government’s current approach is a half-in, half-out regime that both tolerates and prohibits the local use of marijuana. This contradicting and unstable state of affairs weighs down the basic principles of federalism and hides traps for the unwary. “

Thomas refers to a number of occasions when the Obama administration took a solid approach to state marijuana laws, telling federal attorneys not to make weed a priority. He also points out how Congress in recent years has approved federal budget tabs designed to protect cannabis operations in medical marijuana states.

Photo by Esther Kelleter / Getty Images

“In view of all these developments, one can understand why a normal person might think that the federal government has withdrawn from its once absolute ban on marijuana,” wrote Thomas. “You may also understand why Colorado business owners … think their domestic marijuana operations are being treated like any other business legal under state law.”

As far as Thomas sees it, the federal government may have lost the power to enforce cannabis laws. “If the government is now content to allow states to” act as laboratories “and try new social and economic experiments, then it may no longer have the authority to” penetrate “[t]The central police powers of the states. . . Define criminal law and protect the health, safety and wellbeing of its citizens. “

RELATED: Will the Supreme Court hear a lawsuit to de- or reschedule marijuana?

Although Thomas’ thoughts on the matter will not force specific changes at the national level, cannabis advocates praised him for taking a stand and giving Congress something to think about.

“Justice Thomas’ comments reflect what the vast majority of Americans have realized for some time,” said Erik Altieri, executive director of NORML. “With nearly half of all Americans living in a state where adult marijuana use is perfectly legal, it is both absurd and problematic for the federal government to continue defining cannabis as a List I Prohibited Controlled Substance.

Photo by MarkThomas via Pixabay

“This intellectually dishonest position conflicts with available science and the current cultural landscape, and complicates states’ ability to successfully regulate and oversee state-legal marijuana businesses,” he continued. “It is time for Congress to end this untenable situation by removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act so that states can make their own decisions regarding marijuana and the marijuana trade without undue federal interference.”

RELATED: A right-wing supreme court won’t hinder cannabis reform, legal experts say

It might be time for Congress to give serious thought to ending the federal marijuana ban, but that again is unlikely to happen. There are still too many divisions in the Senate to see a cannabis reform bill get a fair chance. Additionally, many Democrats and Republicans who represent states where weed is legal are still not convinced that state legalization is the way to go. And President Joe Biden, well, he’s not going to endorse full legalization until research tells him it’s safe to do so. But perhaps the hill will heed Thomas’ words.