by John Stock

Created on: March 24, 2009   Last Updated: December 04, 2010

Since the origin of the federal ban on marijuana, the courts have upheld the law through use of the interstate commerce power granted to Congress in Article I of the United States Constitution; however such use is a perversion of the article's original intent. It could be (at least on a strictly unconstitutional sense) reasonable for Congress to use this power to prevent the interstate trade of cannabis and its products, however interstate commerce has no connection to intrastate activities, which is why an amendment to the constitution was required to ban alcohol during the prohibition era. The constitution is meant to procure federalism by limiting the federal government in order to grant a degree of sovereignty in the states, but this intent was disregarded when Congress chose to overstep its bounds by declaring private practices criminal.

The federal ban of marijuana has stifled the legitimate economy by neglecting the many uses of the cannabis plant. Cannabis has been shown to create more (hemp) paper than the trees that are currently used, is an eco-friendly source of clothing material, is a more potent biofuel than corn, and could be used to replace various pharmaceuticals and artificial painkillers. The legalization of cannabis would be an environmentally friendly route to preventing the destruction of woodlands, help lessen the country's dependency on foreign and off-shore drilling, and cut the cost of medical bills in certain cases, both for suppliers and consumers.

By making the (still accessible) marijuana trade illegal, the government has given drug lords a place in the market and provided an avenue for money and power for gangs and other forms of organized crime. Just as the prohibition of alcohol was unsuccessful and led to the flourishing of crime (much of which was violent), the prohibition of marijuana has had little more affect than causing a large influx in violent crime. If marijuana were declared legal, the trade would be taken out of the hands of the wicked and placed in the hands of legitimate producers and business owners. The legalized plant would also be able to be taxed as a governmental revenue acquiring asset and could be regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, thus providing accountability for the quality and purity of the legitimate marijuana.

For far too long the federal government has been acquiring power that it does not constitutionally deserve and it is time that the ideals of federalism and personal liberties be restored in the framework of the United States of America. The effects of a federal ban on cannabis show the damage caused when the government oversteps its bounds and attempts to micromanage the lives of its citizens. Through the illegalization of cannabis, the federal government has neglected its constitutional limits, inhibited economic and environmental success, and created a place in the market for drug lords, gangs, and violent organized crime.

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