Dr. William Geeslin
POS-2041 US Government
November 2, 2014
Federalism is the system of government that divides the power or governing between a national/ federal government and the regional/state governments. According to our United States Constitution a fundamental part of American government is the federalism system. The states are not just regional representatives of the federal government but have their own independent powers and responsibilities. As long as they do not violate the Constitution, States are allowed to pass, interpret and enforce their own laws. With federalism in place state government serves as a check for the power of the federal government. A part of the responsibility of the state is the exclusive power …show more content…
Some cons brought forth by Maxwell are 1. Marijuana shops going up every corner 2. Kids having easy access 3. Allows doctors to recommend marijuana for all sorts of reasons not just cancer as they will be using their own discretion to it the “debilitating medical condition” rule. 4. It impairs judgment and 5. Impairs brain development. He went on to give some pros of passing the amendment.1. Marijuana would be heavily regulated-even more so than many of the states that have currently legalized it. Patients would be required to get state-issued IDs and the department of health would limit the possession levels and have registered treatment centers. 2. Because the department of health would be regulating medical marijuana there would not be ‘pot shops’ on every corner. The amendment spells out checks and balances to avoid them. 3. Marijuana is currently legal in twenty-three states and is working well. He points out that the amendment in Florida would not be as permissive and California’s yet not a restrictive as Arizona’s and definitely not a free for all like Colorado’s plan of fully legalizing marijuana. Maxwell believes that the medical benefits and personal freedoms of medical marijuana outweigh the listed concerns. He also states that there is a potential for doctor abuse as with oxycodone and like alcohol, marijuana does impair one’s judgment but again, the benefits that medical marijuana provides to the very ill is worth it. As with cigarettes, there is a health concern but we need to use medical marijuana wisely and doctors need to use their good judgment when prescribing it. According to Maxwell, legalizing marijuana beats spending the state’s tax dollars arresting and imprisoning marijuana users and he would much rather leave the decision of using medical marijuana to doctors rather than to