The Selective Legalization of Marijuana By The States

The politicians in my local village are taking it upon themselves to regulate where marijuana, for recreational purposes, may be sold and where it may not be sold. They claim they are doing so in anticipation of NY state legalizing it for such use. Thus it has been proposed that vendors will only be able to sell it a certain distance from houses of worship, schools and the like. They have determined that it should be sold from stores within the village’s industrial zone (made in the USA is bound to suffer due to that one) do not want it to get into the hands of kiddies, So, someone setting up shop will have to assure that the place of business will have to be at least 500 from any school. (More at the source.) Such a law or regulation ought to work as well as the federal law making it illegal to carry firearms within 1,000 feet of a school zone – look at how many lives that one has saved.

If marijuana was actually to be legalized it would be okay by me; let’s face it prohibition does not work. The thing is though, even if NY state passes legislation into law permitting the recreational use of it, it will still be illegal – there are federal laws making it such. Now comes the tricky part – NY will undoubtedly enforce federal laws making marijuana possession and use illegal as they see fit to fit their political agenda. With that sad, you can safely bet that even if legalized in this state, guns owners will be prosecuted or at the very least will have their guns seized and license revoked should they be caught or admit to use of marijuana within NY. After all, it is part of federal law/regulation that does not allow for a person to legally own transfer and or own firearms if they use illegal drugs. “Oh wait, but marijuana is legal in my state” you say. Yes but as I just said still illegal under federal law and NY, being a gun-control leftist Utopia, definitely will enforce those laws and relative regulations unlike the way they totally violate federal laws and regulations relative to illegal immigration and/or likely will violate federal law and regulation relative to the possession and use of marijuana should they pass legislation legalizing it under state law.

God forbid that a gun owner would smoke marijuana – he might go on a killing rampage. So, NY will likely still consider it illegal for someone to own firearms if he or she smokes or even possesses marijuana. Then again, what about drivers, doctors, nurses, law enforcement officers, crossing guards, judges, district attorneys, politicians, builders, electricians, barbers (those razors are sharp), teachers and anyone else – won’t it be potentially very dangerous allowing them to use it too? Under NY law, it likely will not be illegal for most of those folks or will be ignored even if illegal (by way of selective enforcement), except maybe in the case of law enforcement officers.

The federal government could stop all this immediately if those in it wanted to put an end to it. All they would have to do is collect the tax on marijuana that has been on the books for years. Taxation is how the federal government was able to regulate narcotics and other drugs, by way of the Harrison Act, in the first place and yes it was the progressives who came up with that tax. Francis Burton Harrison was a New Yorker, a congressman and, of course, a Democrat. Getting back to the tax on marijuana, I do not recall the tax rate per ounce but I do remember it is astronomically high. The feds could rake in a lot of dough allowing the states to legalize it even if the federal government legalized it but still regulated it. Not that I am much for over-taxation by any government but he feds potentially could rein in states like NY by enforcement of such a tax or they could reduce the tax for states that continue to cooperate with the feds on such things as illegal immigration. Yet, that is unlikely to happen and the states will just legislate laws making it selectively legal as they deem fit while selectively enforcing federal laws and regulations making it a no-no for firearms owner. You can bet on it.

My personal thoughts are that neither the state nor federal governments should have anything to say about a weed someone wants to grow and possess to get high except maybe with regard to operating motor vehicles or carrying out critical job functions and endangering the lives of others while under the influence. Owning a car or having a certain job or owning a firearm should have nothing to do with it so long as you are not endangering anyone while using it.

All the best,

Glenn B