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Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by 0x4d464d48 on Thursday December 27, 2018 @04:10PM (#18772653)
"There is nothing that stops the federal US government from throwing someone in jail for growing / transporting / using / processing payment for marijuana."

I always wondered about that. Has there been any chatter about someone trying to get a federal court to nullify the law? I have no idea how that can work.

Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by jcranmer on Thursday December 27, 2018 @07:34PM (#18773916)
> Has there been any chatter about someone trying to get a federal court to nullify the law? I have no idea how that can work.

The US has signed up to a treaty that requires us to treat marijuana as an illegal controlled substance. That requires an explicit act of Congress to abrogate, and no court is going to find otherwise.

Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by dragonwriter on Friday December 28, 2018 @02:14PM (#18778771)
> The US has signed up to a treaty that requires us to treat marijuana as an illegal controlled substance. That requires an explicit act of Congress to abrogate, and no court is going to find otherwise.

It probably should, but you may be wrong about the weight of legal opinion: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/donald-trump-can-unila...

In any case, the relevant treaty is not self-executing, and there is no mechanism to force Congress to criminalize drugs if it chooses not to even without explicitly abrogating (or even the President unilaterally disavowing) the treaty. Foreign countries could try to bring a case against the US before the ICJ, but even if successful, that wouldn't actually force changes to domestic law.

Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by namlem on Friday December 28, 2018 @01:41PM (#18778573)
So are Canada and Uruguay. UN treaties are meaningless, they're purely for show.
Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by solidsnack9000 on Thursday December 27, 2018 @08:13PM (#18774108)
Which treaty is that?
Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by barry-cotter on Thursday December 27, 2018 @09:14PM (#18774383)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_...

This was the first result for both “drugs treaty” and “Narcotics treaty”.

Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by solidsnack9000 on Saturday December 29, 2018 @08:46AM (#18783518)
Although the treaty does seem to be pretty clearly prohibitionist, there is some debate (covered under "Possession for personal use", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_...) as to whether or not the treaty requires member states to prohibit possession for personal use.
Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by katbyte on Friday December 28, 2018 @03:54AM (#18775647)
Is canada not a signatory on that treaty then?
Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by fromthestart on Thursday December 27, 2018 @09:53PM (#18774555)
That page doesn't mention marijuana. I don't think marijuana is classified as a narcotic, despite the vagueness of the definition.
Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by jcranmer on Thursday December 27, 2018 @10:40PM (#18774737)
Cannabis is explicitly listed as a Schedule I drug on that page.
Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by Tsubasachan on Friday December 28, 2018 @04:48AM (#18775858)
We all know how much the US cares about upholding international treaties lol.
Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by greenleafjacob on Thursday December 27, 2018 @04:18PM (#18772726)
On what grounds? It was already conclusively decided in Gonzales vs Raich.
Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by wl on Thursday December 27, 2018 @11:43PM (#18774915)
2/3rds of the membership of the Supreme Court has changed since Gonzales vs. Raich. There might be more skepticism about applying Wickard here given that the majority of Americans now support legalization. It shouldn't matter in theory, but it it probably does to some extent. I could see RBG changing her vote from last time and possibly Souter as well, especially if the case could be distinguished from Wickard in such a way that doesn't call into question large swaths of the modern federal government.
Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by ceejayoz on Thursday December 27, 2018 @04:15PM (#18772697)
There'd be no legal basis for that. Federal drug law trumps state ones if there's a conflict.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supremacy_Clause

Re:One year into legal pot sales California doesn’t have exp... by int_19h on Thursday December 27, 2018 @08:46PM (#18774280)
Federal laws can't be arbitrary, though - they need to fall under one of the enumerated federal powers.

Problem is, ever since Wickard v. Filburn decision, all that the federal government needs to do is to add "... in interstate commerce" in the text of the law, and it is magically constitutional. The words themselves have practically no meaning - in Wickard, the Supreme Court ruled that a person growing food for personal consumption is still "participating in interstate commerce", on the basis that they'd have to buy that food otherwise, and therefore affect market prices on it.