PITTSBURG TRIBUNE Editorial: …Federal supremacy is straightforward when Congress legalizes private activity banned by states — but not when Congress bans conduct legalized by states, [Vanderbilt University law professor Robert A. Miklos in says. Those state laws remain in force because the anti-commandeering principle means Congress can‘t pre-empt states‘ inaction — in this instance, declining, via legalization, to enforce the federal marijuana ban.
There‘s no good reason for any government to ban marijuana, which causes demonstrably less harm than legal alcohol and tobacco; rather, it‘s marijuana prohibition that‘s harmful — to otherwise law-abiding citizens and to taxpayers. Kudos to Miklos for outlining a robust legal basis for states to keep America moving toward the outright legalization that must occur.
And we hope Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and the Republican-controlled state Legislature, each on the wrong side of this argument, take note… (more)
