Weed

Luchador, CNA, EMT-B · Feb 4, 2019

2 hours ago, tonyl1234 said:
State law actually takes priority in almost every case.
City law > State law > Federal law

Sorry Tony, you need to go back and take a high school government class. You have everything exactly, 180 degrees wrong. I really hope nobody reads your posts and thinks they are getting sound advice. Look up Article 6 of the Constitution.

The Attorney General could send in the DEA tomorrow to kick down doors and make arrests in every recreational pot store in Colorado if he wanted to (he won't because of the apocalyptic political fall out, but he could).

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The law that applies to situations where state and federal laws disagree is called the supremacy clause, which is part of article VI of the Constitution. The supremacy clause contains what’s known as the doctrine of pre-emption, which says that the federal government wins in the case of conflicting legislation. Basically, if a federal and state law contradict, then when you’re in the state you can follow the state law, but the feds can decide to stop you. When there is a conflict between a state law and federal law, it is the federal law that prevails. For example, if a federal regulation prohibits the use of medical marijuana, but a state regulation allows it, the federal law prevails.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/lesley-daunt/state-vs-federal-law-who-_b_4676579.html

MiladyMalarkey, ASN, BSN · Feb 5, 2019

How about don't use weed, problem solved!

Luchador, CNA, EMT-B · Feb 5, 2019

23 minutes ago, MiladyMalarkey said:
How about don't use weed, problem solved!

Meh. I used a 10mg THC gummy after back packing trips for my horrible knee and it worked better than NSAIDs. It's absurd that federal and state laws are so out of wack and that federal laws are so stupid. Pot does not deserve to be on the same schedule as heroin.

But ya, until the moronic federal law is changed, don't use weed.

TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN · Feb 5, 2019

6 hours ago, Luchador said:
Sorry Tony, you need to go back and take a high school government class. You have everything exactly, 180 degrees wrong. I really hope nobody reads your posts and thinks they are getting sound advice. Look up Article 6 of the Constitution.
The Attorney General could send in the DEA tomorrow to kick down doors and make arrests in every recreational pot store in Colorado if he wanted to (he won't because of the apocalyptic political fall out, but he could).

So if you fail a drug test the FBI is going to come knocking on your door?

Context, buddy. Local businesses and law enforcement are bound by state law before federal law. If marijuana is legal in Colorado, you cannot be arrested for it. State law takes priority. If a state has a law that you cannot be denied a job for a positive result for it, then you can't be denied a job in that state.

Luchador, CNA, EMT-B · Feb 5, 2019

Just now, tonyl1234 said:
Local businesses and law enforcement are bound by state law before federal law.

How do you keep typing stuff that is just 100% wrong? The feds could kick down the door of every pot store in Colorado if they wanted to. Cops are finally realizing it isn't an enforcement "priority" but if the Feds want to come after you for weed, they could.

What do you think about the supremacy clause of the constitution? I'll just give your more cites, but you seem to be willfully ignorant.

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Despite medical cannabis laws in 46 states, cannabis is still illegal under federal law. The federal government regulates drugs through the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) (21 U.S.C. § 811), which does not recognize the difference between medical and recreational use of cannabis. These laws are generally applied only against persons who possess, cultivate, or distribute large quantities of cannabis.
Under federal law, cannabis is treated like every other controlled substance, such as cocaine and heroin
https://www.safeaccessnow.org/federal_marijuana_law

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Even as several states and Washington, DC, allow marijuana, the federal government still strictly prohibits pot.
Under the scheduling system, the federal government classifies marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, meaning it’s perceived to have no medical value and a high potential for abuse.
The classification puts marijuana in the same category as heroin and a more restrictive category than schedule 2 drugs like cocaine and meth.
https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/8/20/17938372/marijuana-legalization-federal-prohibition-drug-scheduling-system

TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN · Feb 6, 2019

23 hours ago, Luchador said:
How do you keep typing stuff that is just 100% wrong? The feds could kick down the door of every pot store in Colorado if they wanted to. Cops are finally realizing it isn't an enforcement "priority" but if the Feds want to come after you for weed, they could.

Can, but won't.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Feb 6, 2019

On 2/4/2019 at 11:20 AM, tonyl1234 said:
State law actually takes priority in almost every case. It's actually specifically written into a ton of federal laws. [/quote]
Quote
City law > State law > Federal law

tony, this is all kinds of wrong. In general, it's the exact opposite, unless the courts find the federal law to be unconstitutional or under certain specific conditions. In the case of weed, the issue has been considered to murky-but NOT for the reason you state, that City Law > State Law > Federal Law. That's absolutely not the case. See Article 6 of the constitution, which states explicitly that in the event of a conflict, Federal Law trumps other laws.

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Federal Preemption and the Supremacy Clause
The Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution establishes that state laws are subordinate to federal laws and regulations. Put simply, federal law governs state law; however, this is only the case when federal and state laws conflict with one another [1]. Mere overlap on subject matter is not enough to strike down a state statute; it must be impossible to comply with both federal and state law before a federal law overrides a state law.
Refer to this source to read about how the conflicts between state laws and federal are problematic with regard to the Supremacy Law of the US Constitution, particularly as it regards the subject of marijuana use:
http://www.currentcompliance.org/2018/04/11/state-law-federal-law-rules/
As to your insistence that all employees (or nursing students) in states where marijuana is legal have the absolute right to partake without having their employment (or student) status endangered, again you are wrong.

So, if your doctor prescribes it to you, you can't be dropped from school.
In Colorado, where marijuana use is legal, a man lost his job when he tested positive for THC (he had a prescription for medical marijuana). He took his case all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court, where he lost his case. The court held that his employer could fire him for using.
https://www.denverpost.com/2015/06/15/colorado-supreme-court-employers-can-fire-for-off-duty-pot-use/
Nicotine use is legal in all 50 states. Many facilities are now testing for nicotine use and are making hiring decisions based on those test results. So much for your assertions that as long as what you are doing is legal, it's nobody's business. Maybe someone will challenge this all the way to the US Supreme Court. At least then, these "murky" issues will all be crystal clear.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Feb 6, 2019

1 hour ago, tonyl1234 said:
Can, but won't.

Probably, but certainly not because of your incorrect assertion that

City Law>State Law>Federal Law.

Where in the world did you get the idea that this is true? Why do you have SUCH a hard time admitting you could be wrong about something? It's OKAY to admit you don't know everything or that you thought you knew something that turned out to be completely false. There is no shame in conceding that you are mistaken! I often find out that I've gotten something wrong. In that case, you just say "Oops! My bad!" And the world will still turn...;)

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Feb 6, 2019

BTW, I'm having trouble with the quote feature after the new changes to the site. Since I don't know everything I couldn't fix it.

If there is an > mark, there should be a quote there. You have to click on the >, which I really don't understand.

I REALLY dislike the site now and don't feel the changes improved on anything. JMO of course.

TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN · Feb 7, 2019

22 hours ago, Horseshoe said:
Probably, but certainly not because of your incorrect assertion that
City Law>State Law>Federal Law.
Where in the world did you get the idea that this is true?

In Illinois, guns are relatively easily accessible. Within Chicago, sales have some bigger restrictions. City > State

In Colorado, weed is still federally illegal, so yeah, technically the FBI or DEA CAN arrest you. But state and municipal police, cannot. State > Federal.

You're forgetting that we have a 10th amendment, which gives freedom to states.

Basically, here's how it works: Colorado cannot make weed legal. BUT they can, and did, make it illegal to prosecute. The entire legal system of Colorado is bound specifically by state law. Our 10th amendment means that no state has to enforce federal law, thats the responsibility of the federal government.

State law takes priority within the state.

Luchador, CNA, EMT-B · Feb 7, 2019

2 minutes ago, tonyl1234 said:
State law takes priority within the state.

You contradicted yourself earlier in your post when you acknowledged the DEA could arrest folks in CO for pot.

I don't understand how somebody can get things completely wrong.

If state law takes priority over federal law why were southern states forced to integrate? The US army was sent in.
If state law takes priority why did Roe vs. Wade legalize abortion nation wide?
How do you dismiss the supremacy clause of the Constitution?

TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN · Feb 7, 2019

10th amendment.

Here's what's going on with weed, again. FEDERAL law says that it's illegal. Colorado law acknowledges that it's illegal, but makes prosecuting people for recreational use illegal. The reason for this is specifically because of the 10th amendment which limits the government's power in relation to the states. Since the states are responsible for prosecution of recreational use of drugs, the states are who declares law based on use. This allows states to create laws that allow recreational use, not by legalizing weed, but by making the prosecution of recreational use illegal.

The state laws take priority because the states are the ones bound by that law. Federal law only applies to federal agencies, as long as state law doesn't oppose federal law. Legalizing weed in Colorado doesn't oppose federal law, because again, it's only targeting the enforcement of law, which the 10th amendment gives complete freedom to the state about, and since the state, not the federal government is what's going to be prosecuting normal use, as long as that weed stays in Colorado, and follows their laws, you won't be prosecuted. The federal agencies technically CAN start enforcing the law within the states, but it's limited to ONLY federal agencies. They absolutely CANNOT require Colorado to prosecute people for any drug use.

Then when applied to jobs, there is no federal law that you can't work if you fail a drug test. Colorado is 100% free to require businesses to overlook a positive for that drug.

TLDR: Weed is illegal, supremacy clause makes it illegal in Colorado. BUT the 10th amendment limits both state and federal powers to the state and federal government. So while weed is still technically illegal in Colorado, Colorado refuses to allow people to be prosecuted for weed within the state. The only people who can enforce the laws against it now are the federal government, who isn't going around Colorado stopping people for swerving in their lane and catching people with weed. This same concept applies to jobs and hiring and nursing.

City > State > Federal once balance of power is established