Thread: Federal laws trump state laws

Originally Posted by bluesman7

My understanding is that the legal pot in Colorado is way more expensive than black market pot. So since anyone in Oklahoma or Nebraska with pot would be illegal anyway, it seems pretty stupid to go to Colorado to pay more than what they would pay at home.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Exact same up here in Idaho

This makes sense.

As far as I know distilling or selling liquor without license is also cheaper and illegal than getting licensed, regulated, and taxed by the state.
Some people probably still do it, but most go to the licensed stores, pay the higher prices and don't get busted.

It's likely just a political stunt like almost everything that happens in this country these days.

Legalize it already and come out of the dark ages!

It is interesting when you look into the history of marijuana, and more importantly hemp.In 1619, because hemp was such an important resource, it was illegal not to grow hemp in Jamestown, Virginia. Massachusetts and Connecticut had similar laws. During the 1700's, subsidies and bounties were granted in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, North & South Carolina, and the New England states to encourage hemp cultivation and the manufacturing of cordage and canvas.
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers grew hemp.
In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees. Plans were in the works to implement such programs.
In the 1930s, innovations in farm machinery would have caused an industrial revolution when applied to hemp. This single resource could have created millions of new jobs generating thousands of quality products. Hemp, if not made illegal, would have brought America out of the Great Depression.
Hemp cultivation and production do not harm the environment. The USDA Bulletin #404 concluded that hemp produces 4 times as much pulp with at least 4 to 7 times less pollution. Hemp does not require any pesticides at all, and will grow nearly anywhere.
The first diesel engine was designed to run on vegetable oils, one of which was hemp oil. In the 1930s Henry Ford produced an automobile composed of 70 percent hemp plastic which also ran on hemp based fuel and oil.
In 1937, Dupont patented the processes to make plastics from oil and coal. Dupont's Annual Report urged stockholders to invest in its new petrochemical division. Synthetics such as plastics, cellophane, celluloid, methanol, nylon, rayon, Dacron, etc. could now be made from oil. Natural hemp industrialization would have ruined over 80% of Dupont's business. Imagine how much less plastic would be in our seas if hemp hadn't been made illegal.
Twentieth-century cannabis prohibition first reared its head in countries where white minorities ruled black majorities: South Africa, where it's known as dagga, banned it in 1911, and Jamaica, then a British colony, outlawed ganja in 1913. They were followed by Canada, Britain and New Zealand, which added cannabis to their lists of illegal narcotics in the 1920s. Canada's pot law was enacted in 1923, several years before there were any reports of people actually smoking it there.
Modern uses.
The quality of hemp paper is superior to tree-based paper. Hemp paper will last hundreds of years without degrading, can be recycled many more times than tree-based paper, and requires less toxic chemicals in the manufacturing process than does paper made from trees. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper.
The famous writings written on hemp paper include:
The Gutenberg Bible (15th century).
The King James Bible (17th century).
Thomas Paine's pamphlets: The Rights of Man, Common Sense, and The Age of Reason.
The works of Mark Twain, Alexander Dumas, and Victor Hugo.
And Lewis Carroll's beloved Alice in Wonderland.
Hemp can be used to produce fiberboard that is stronger and lighter than wood. Substituting hemp fiberboard for timber would further reduce the need to cut down our forests.
Hemp can be used to produce strong, durable and environmentally-friendly plastic substitutes. Thousands of products made from petroleum-based plastics can be produced from hemp-based composites.
It takes years for trees to grow until they can be harvested for paper or wood, but hemp is ready for harvesting only 120 days after it is planted. Hemp can grow on most land suitable for farming, while forests and tree farms require large tracts of land available in few locations. Harvesting hemp rather than trees would also eliminate erosion due to logging, thereby reducing topsoil loss and water pollution caused by soil runoff.
Hemp seeds contain a protein that is more nutritious and more economical to produce than soybean protein. Hemp seeds are not intoxicating. Hemp seed protein can be used to produce virtually any product made from soybean: tofu, veggie burgers, butter, cheese, salad oils, ice cream, milk, etc. Hemp seed can also be ground into a nutritious flour that can be used to produce baked goods such as pasta, cookies, and breads.
Hemp seed oil can be used to produce non-toxic diesel fuel, paint, varnish, detergent, ink and lubricating oil. Because hemp seeds account for up to half the weight of a mature hemp plant, hemp seed is a viable source for these products.
70% of the Cannabis Plant total weight, depending on what variety is grown, is made up of the 'hurd' or woody inner core. This part of the plant is THC free, and is used in housing construction. The silica leached from the soil by the plant combined with unslaked lime forms a chemical bond similar to cement which is fire and water proof. Hemp Homes.
I don't smoke pot any more, but believe you me, I hoovered up more than my fair share back in the day. Don't think it did me any harm, but each to their own. When I looked into the history of hemp, I really felt like there were a few big players back in the day pulling strings to outlaw hemp, and along with that, marijuana to maximize big business profits. Not surprised. I have barely scratched the surface on hemp and it's uses. Hope I didn't slip too much off topic there.

Great write up of the weed.
Thanks for sharing.

Don't forget hemp strops.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I guess you get to choose which federal laws trump State ones and the other way around.

Yep! Refusing to enforce federal law is even done at the federal level - it's almost like politicians are hypocritical or something

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

Yep! Refusing to enforce federal law is even done at the federal level - it's almost like politicians are hypocritical or something

Or being forbidden by the President from enforcing federal law

Originally Posted by BDRebel

Or being forbidden by the President from enforcing federal law

So what's the issue? When you litter on the street and the police see you do it and don't give you a summons he is selectively enforcing a local law. Local prosecutors do it all the time as do Federal. It's business as usual and has always been. The system does not have the capacity if every law was strictly enforced so they decide on a case by case basis what to enforce.

Prosecutorial discretion is one thing, and is addressed in the law.
What is not addressed is the president nullifying a large section of title 8 of the Unites Atates code, or pressuring white cops from pressing charges on black citizens.

My job for 30 years was to enforce title 8 and as I said before what's the issue. This administration and every one before has selectively enforced this title and every other one as they saw fit.