http://blogs.detroitnews.com/politics/2013/11/26/new-state-medical-pot-legislation-problematic/
Nov 26, 2013, 3:30 pm
New medical pot legislation for Michigan problematic
- By Dawud Walid
House Judiciary Committee Chair Kevin Cotter, R-Mount Pleasant, states that he’s making medical pot his top priority for next month given the Michigan Supreme Court’s recent rulings against it. Though I believe Cotter has noble intentions, attempting to legislate pot into pharmacies from a state perspective, as House Bill 4271 is highly problematic.
Marijuana is a scheduled I controlled substance and is illegal for usage according to the federal government. Moreover, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which approves the safety of all drugs to be sold over the counter and in pharmacies states that “marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and has a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.”
Pharmacies are obligated to adhere to federal law. Not abiding by federal regulations could result in pharmacies having their licenses revoked and criminal charges for the owners. Although the Obama administration has taken a kind of hands-off approach in his second term to medical pot, such legislation from Michigan could be challenged in federal court based upon the discretion of the next U.S. Attorney General.
The federal government has supremacy over states in such issues.
I’m not opposed to medical marijuana if it is approved, regularly tested for quality like other drugs, sold by approved pharmacies and taxed like other prescriptions. What I’m not in favor of are piecemeal approaches that are on constitutionally shaky ground. Medical marijuana needs a federal solution like immigration reform, not what Cotter is putting forward.