Sunday, January 7, 2018

Shakespeare and Friday

  Jeff Sessions has come under fire for the most grievous of things, upholding current law ! That's correct, the attorney general of the United States has decided to enforce the law. I know, I know, it's a terrible thing. Back in 2013 President Obama issued a memo saying he wouldn't have his justice department enforce current laws. He decided to just ignore it instead.
 The President does not have the to power to ignore or change law. He can not by memo, or any other device, except in time of war or extreme emergency, decide what laws to enforce or not enforce. That is the function of the Congress. The President heads up the Executive branch. If you think back to grade school days you understand the purpose of the  executive branch is to " enforce " the laws of Congress, the legislative branch. The legislative branch writes the laws. A third branch, the judicial branch, interprets those laws written by Congress and determines their Constitutional validity. We call it checks and balances, remember that ? The Supreme court has not ruled on the issue of legalized marijuana. That is just the straight up fact of the matter. Regardless of any feelings you have to the contrary, the law clearly lists marijuana as a controlled substance. You will find it listed on schedule one issued by the FDA. Schedule one drugs are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Along with pot you will find LSD, Peyote and heroin.
 The issue is whether pot should be listed on that schedule or not. That is the controversy here. That doesn't mean the individual states get to change federal law. That is why we have the Supremacy clause in the constitution. Federal law trumps all other laws. Yes, the buck stops there, with the president, whose job is to enforce federal law. President Truman had a sign on his desk that famously said, " the buck stops here. " The sentiment in that being, the president has to decide, for himself, what action, or inaction to adopt. That decision does not include what is law or not, just the means to enforce law. President Obama decided to ignore federal law ! That decision was beyond his scope of power. And it is for that reason that Jeff Sessions, attorney general of the United States of America, must enforce the law. It is his duty to do so. Until the legislative branch of our government changes that law, it remains enforceable ! Indeed it should be enforced because it is the will of the people. If the people, through their elected representatives wish to change that law, the people must petition congress to do so. You don't get to ignore the law because of popular sentiment !
 Does Marijuana have a legitimate medical use ? From all accounts, it does. Okay, no argument from this corner. Does it have a high risk for abuse ? Probably, but so does chocolate so we'll set that aside. Should marijuana be legal for legitimate medical purposes ? I'd vote yes. Is it currently ? No, it isn't. I wonder why I don't hear about a lot of lobbying going on to legalize this treatment ? Is it all a conspiracy of big pharma ? Is it a struggle between big pharma and the people over revenue ? That seems the most likely reason. Now, some states have decided the law takes a back seat to profits. It is the taxation of the product that interests the states, not its' medical benefits. Colorado has already seen over a billion dollars in tax revenue. And that is just on the sale of pot, not including whatever tourist revenue may have resulted from this " legalization. "
 The truth is , it is not legal ! It is the same concept as " sanctuary " cities where mayors decide to ignore the law. The bottom line in this whole discussion is people just want to smoke dope ! The want to grow it, buy it, smoke it and have it declared a perfectly normal and acceptable social convention. Everybody should get high. That's the bottom line. Should the people be able to do this ? Does government have any social responsibility at all ? That is the real question in this current narrative. Does the government have any social responsibility to its' citizens ? If we remove pot from the schedule one list of drugs what argument do we use to keep others on it ? Is one abuse worse than another ? Pot is no worse than alcohol. My response is, shouldn't we be striving for " better than " not it isn't any " worse " than ? Alcohol was prescribed for " medical " reasons during prohibition, was it really a medicine ? Depends on how you wish to define medicinal purposes. If it relieves anxiety or numbs physical pain does that make it medicinal ? If we use that criteria the door is wide open.
 Alright. my whole intent here is to point out a simple fact. Jeff Sessions is going to enforce the current law. I struggle to understand these folks that are so upset by that. It is the same bunch that are upset that Trump won the election. You may not like either fact but they are fact ! No matter how many ways you try to spin the story the facts remain. Marijuana is an illicit drug, listed on Schedule one of the Federal Drug Administration list of banned drugs. You don't have to like it, you don't have to agree with it, but you do have to understand it is the law. Just like Trump is the President. You don't have to like it, you don't have to agree with it, you can search for any and all reasons or collusions you wish for the changing of that, but the fact remains, Trump is the President of the United States of America.
 I'm just sick and tired of this whole, I don't like it, nonsense. Yeah, there are a lot of things I don't like either. If you don't like the law, change the law ! You do not get to ignore the law. The president  is charged with enforcing the law. Quit complaining when he does that. The congress is charged with making laws. If you want the law changed, petition congress ! Look this whole posting is not about whether Pot should or should not be legalized. Currently it is not ! Period, end of discussion. Shakespeare said, " brevity is the soul of wit. " And that is the long and short of it. Sgt Friday on Dragnet also summed it up nicely, " just the facts maam, just the facts. "
 Oh, and the fact is this. It is up to the FDA to add or remove drugs from this listing after following certain protocols. So, in reality it doesn't take an act of Congress at all. Pressure the FDA, not Jeff Sessions. Sessions can not add or remove anything from that list. His job is to enforce the law, not decide upon it.          
 




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