Marijuana: Federally Illegal, But Slowly Gaining Legality across States

Casey Wedlake
May 19th, 2016
State and Local Politics
 Looking across the nation it is easy to see that while all fifty states are

united under the federal government, there are many ways in which state

laws have come to differ drastically. Recently one of the main issues that has

been addressed time and time again in the media is that of drug policies. In

recent years the drug policies across the states have begun to differ

drastically, especially looking at marijuana and the legality, or lack thereof,

of said drug. There are multiple states that have taken steps to decriminalize

small amounts of marijuana along with the legalization for medical purposes.

States such as Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Colorado has gone as far as

legalization the drug, albeit with strong restrictions from the respective state

governments. Looking at a state like Colorado versus that of Illinois, it is

immediately clear the difference that lie between the two in terms of

marijuana and its legality, however; looking into the issue more specifically,

it is clear that there are similarities to be found within the laws regarding the

drug.

Looking at drug laws, technically speaking, Federal law

classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug under the 1970 Controlled

Substances Act (CSA), placing it alongside such illegal drugs as heroin, LSD,

and MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy). The CSA imposes a punishment of

up to one year in prison or up to a $1,000 fine for possession of marijuana,

and these punishments increase if a defendant has previous drug

convictions. Intent to distribute marijuana can garner up to five years in

prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (InfoBase). Looking at this statement, it

is a crime that is punishable on a fairly severe scale. The key component that

must be acknowledged is that the states are allowed to decriminalize and or

legalize a drug such a marijuana in their specific state, while the drug is still

technically illegal under federal law.

When one looks at Colorado specifically, in the past fifteen years,

marijuana has slowly become much less of a criminal offense, with the

residents bringing forward various proposals. As stated on InfoBase article

Should the United States Legalize Marijuana?, In 2007, the residents of

Denver, Colorado, voted for a measure that made arresting and prosecuting

adults for marijuana possession the city's "lowest law-enforcement priority,

and in 2012 legalizing marijuana for retail sale. Examining the laws in Illinois,

as is seen on statelaws.findlaws.org, The cultivation, trafficking, sale, or

possession of marijuana is a crime in Illinois under the state's Controlled

Substances Act. But while laws criminalizing cocaine, heroin, and other hard

drugs typically result in felony charges, Illinois marijuana laws are much

more lax. For instance, possession of less than 2.5 grams of cannabis is a

class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine. The state also allows the use of

medical marijuana for eligible patients as part of a pilot program slated to

run through 2018. As one can see, Illinois is a state that has come to fall in

the middle in terms of the harshness of the laws regarding Marijuana. While

Colorado carries no penalty for being in possession of marijuana, this year

Illinois has again brought forward a bill that would decriminalize the drug.
The Chicago Tribune article, Illinois Lawmakers Give Pot Decriminalization

another Try, states, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed last year's

attempt to decriminalize pot, but gave lawmakers guidance on how to

proceed if they tried again. Instead of making the possession of 15 grams or

less of marijuana a civil offense, punishable with a fine between $55 and

$125, Rauner wanted and legislators have proposed the threshold to be

lower (10 grams or less) and the fines higher between $100 and $200.

This statement goes to show how, while this is considerably more lax on the

scale of marijuana laws, even such, it is far harsher when one takes into

consideration the marijuana is completely legal in a state like Colorado.

At the end of last year, November 2015, Illinois started a pilot

program that would test the sale of marijuana for medical uses and it is

currently set to run for the next four years. This step has often been one of

the first on the road to legalization of marijuana. As stated on Sensible

Colorado, In November of 2000, voters of the state of Colorado passed

Amendment 20 to the states constitution, codified in article XVIII, section 14.

This article effectively legalized limited amounts of medical marijuana for

patients and their primary caregivers. At one point in time this too was the

first of many steps that would be made for the state regarding marijuana,

however; it is important to note how far behind a state like Illinois is in

contrast, as it has been sixteen years since Colorados law change, and

Illinois is still struggling to pass such a bill. Marijuana was fully legalized in

2014 for recreational use in Colorado, however; it is important to note that

Colorado Votes Approve State Constitutional Amendment Legalizing

Marijuana, In the interest of the health and public safety of our citizenry,

the people of the state of Colorado further find and declare that marijuana

should be regulated in a manner similar to alcohol so that: (i) individuals will

have to show proof of age before purchasing marijuana; (ii) selling,

distributing, or transferring marijuana to minors and other individuals under

the age of twenty-one shall remain illegal (iii) driving under the influence of

marijuana shall remain illegal; (iv) legitimate, taxpaying business people,

and not criminal actors, will conduct sales of marijuana; and (v) marijuana

sold in this state will be labeled and subject to additional regulations to

ensure that consumers are informed and protected. This goes to show that

although there has been legalization, the state of Colorado has essentially

placed the drug in the same category as alcohol with similar limitations and

guidelines.

The legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado has not been

without its issues, as anyone in possession, distributing, or using the drug is

technically breaking federal law, an argument carried by many that dispute

further legalization on other places such as Illinois. The public perception of

marijuana has been extremely influential, as it was the people of Colorado

that voted to legalize the drug, and those in other states have come forward

with bills to do the same. Looking again in the Chicago Tribune article Illinois

Lawmakers Give Pot Decriminalization another Try it states, about 100

issue citations instead of making arrests for small amounts of the drug. This

statement goes to show how even though there have been stalls within the

state government, it is evident that there are already steps being taken

relaying the message to the public that being in possession of a drug such as

marijuana isnt nearly as much of an issue as being caught with Cocaine or

Heroin. The end of this past April brought the passing of the bill to

decriminalized small amounts of marijuana in Illinois with WQAD 8 Quad

Cities News reporting, The measure passed the Illinois Senate by a 40-14

vote Tuesday, April 19, 2016. It now returns to the House for further

consideration. This is the most recent efforts regarding marijuana in the

state of Illinois, and so long as the law is carried out, small amounts of

marijuana will no longer include felony charges or any sort of serious fine.

Colorado remains as one of the four states in the Union fully legalizing use of

marijuana, and although there will likely be efforts for years to come from

various groups to repeal this law, it seems more likely that other states will

take after Colorado in the following years.

As on can see, although there are federal laws concerning marijuana,

broken down state to state, they are extremely complex. There are currently

four states that allow recreational use of marijuana: Colorado, Oregon,

Alaska and Washington. Along with this, there are many states that have

begun to take steps to allow medical marijuana and the decriminalization of

the drug, such as the state of Illinois. Illinois has begun a four year program
allowing the use of medical marijuana, and most recently the state senate

passed a bill that will decriminalize possessing small amount of the drug so

that a citation is a much more likely reprimand instead of a felony charge

that carries potential jail time. Marijuana is likely to remain the center of both

state and federal conversation until a federal law is definitively set, as it has

continued to generate strong opinions and actions on both sides of the issue.

For now, marijuana remains illegal on a federal scale, but after looking at the

specifics in various states, it is evident that the states have, and will likely

continue, to take the issue into their own hands.

Works Cited

Colorado Voters Approve State Constitutional Amendment Legalizing

Marijuana. Issues & Controversies. Infobase Learning, 13 Apr.

<http://icof.infobaselearning.com/recordurl.aspx?ID=16028>.

"History of Colorados Marijuana Laws." Sensible Colorado. N.p., n.d. Web. 17

May 2016.

"Illinois Marijuana Laws - FindLaw." Findlaw. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.

Marijuana. Issues & Controversies. Infobase Learning, 13 Apr. 2016. Web.

17 May 2016. <http://icof.infobaselearning.com/recordurl.aspx?

ID=1621>.

Nelson, Shellie. "Illinois Senate Votes to Decriminalize Possession of up to 10

Grams of Marijuana." WQAD.com. N.p., 20 Apr. 2016. Web. 17 May 2016.

Tribune News Services. "Illinois Lawmakers Give Pot Decriminalization

Another Try." Chicagotribune.com. N.p., 25 Mar. 2016. Web. 17 May

2016.