Medical Marijuana: A Clear-Cut Federalist Issue
Former Speaker of the House John Boehner recently made headlines when he took to Twitter to announce that his long-held stance against cannabis “has evolved,” joining the push to decriminalize marijuana in the U.S. In light of recent polling data, Republicans running in vulnerable districts may wish to consider making a similar change of heart to help ensure their political survival.
While cynics will disparage Mr. Boehner’s comments due to his position on the board of Acreage Holdings, a cannabis company, he is merely the latest high-profile Republican to see the writing on the wall: Marijuana, especially medical marijuana, is a winning political issue that is 100 percent in line with conservative federalist values.
Federalism, as expressed in the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, is a core tenet of small-government conservatism. It is rooted in the understanding that individual states and their citizens are best able to decide matters that are not the explicit purview of the federal government. The principle is also meant to ensure that the federal government does not become too powerful and infringe on individual liberties. By this definition, allowing states to determine their own course of action on medical marijuana is a clear-cut federalist issue. What’s more, it’s also on the right side of public opinion.
One of the greatest strengths of our republic is its ability to adapt and evolve along with the times. However, absent a major disruptive event that forces federal lawmakers’ hands, there is often a lag between shifting public opinion on a particular issue and government action. Yet, on marijuana, our state governments have recognized the evolution of public opinion relatively quickly, with 29 states and the District of Columbia already recognizing and regulating medical marijuana. This comes at a time when polling shows 83 percent of Americans approve of legalized medical marijuana and support for full legalization is on the rise. In fact, a Gallup poll from October found that 64 percent of Americans and a majority of Republicans favor full legalization, both record high numbers. Last month, one of President Trump’s pollsters released findings showing 68 percent of likely 2018 Republican voters approve of medical marijuana.
Given that most of the country now recognizes the difference between marijuana — especially when used for medicinal purposes — and drugs like heroin, congressional Republicans and the executive branch should do the same. Committing to the principle of federalism and letting states decide the issue doesn’t just make sense from a small-government conservative standpoint, it’s also good politics.
Unfortunately, there are those in the Trump administration that don’t seem to get the message, despite the president’s campaign promises to leave medical marijuana to the states. Attorney general Jeff Sessions has broken with the president on this issue and is pressuring Congress to remove the so-called Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment from funding bills, which would allow the Department of Justice to prosecute legal medical marijuana businesses.
The Rohrabacher–Farr Amendment is current law, and has been included in every appropriations bill since 2014. By explicitly defunding any federal attempts to pursue cases in states that permit medical marijuana, it is the clearest statement of Congress’s federalist leanings on this issue to date. The amendment is also currently the only check against the Attorney General’s desire to prosecute medical marijuana cases.
And therein lies the larger problem: Marijuana in all forms is illegal under federal statute, the Controlled Substances Act, making the continued use of the Rohrabacher Amendment merely a stopgap measure. Worse, it pits states and Congress against the Executive Branch, which legally has the authority to prosecute marijuana cases. A federalist solution in the truest sense would be to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, freeing the states to legalize and regulate as they saw fit.
Yet with the opioid crisis wreaking havoc on communities throughout America — and a host of other challenges to keeping Americans safe and secure — one is forced to ask: Does the Department of Justice really have nothing better to do than to crack down on legal medical marijuana use? This head-in-the-sand mentality not only ignores the will of the people but plays into every negative stereotype of Republicans. And if current polling is any indication, Republican candidates for Congress and Senate will need every edge they can get in November’s midterms.
Republican members of Congress — especially those running on anti-Big Government campaign platforms — could start by ensuring the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment is preserved in this year’s appropriations bills. Self-proclaimed federalists should stand up for this cut-and-dried federalist issue, regardless of their personal views on medical marijuana, especially when so many voters want them to.
Demetrios Karoutsos, a political and public affairs strategist, has worked as a press secretary for former New Hampshire Gov. Craig Benson, and has also served as communications director for former US Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY), the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA).
