16 years of legal ambiguity for medicinal cannabis
The modern history of cannabis in the state of California shows a gap between local and federal law that expands quickly. First marijuana was prohibited in 1913, and then California was the first state that legalized the medicinal use of "marijuana" in 1996.
2 weeks ago the Californians were celebrating 16 years of Proposition which legalized marijuana for therapeutic purposes. The law allows patients who have a special prescription cultivate their own medicine or assign a legal grower in accordance with California state law.
Federal law, in the meantime, does not always tolerate therapeutic use of marijuana. However, since 1996 thousands of clinics have been opened around the Golden State. This does not come without official difficulties and not all the clinics were stayed open, but despite this paradox legal Californians entrepreneurs still managed to establish an industry that is now worth several million dollars.
A local economy is at real risk
Given the exceptional rank of the plant at the international level, the medical cannabis business in California is completely local production. For many years the federal government is trying to destabilize the market by different ways.
On October 7 four regional prosecutors of California declared in a press conference that they will talk about the production, circulation and marketing of cannabis in the Golden State. An injunction to shut their shops in 45 days was subsequently sent to all owners of dispensaries.
Since then, the U.S. Treasury decided to claim back taxes, plus new taxes for illegal distribution of a product. The use of the unit tax to end an commerce that seems to worry Washington is strangely reminiscent of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 which taxed the marijuana providers throughout the territory.
Even the banks are pressured with charges for money laundering if they decide to open accounts for those involved in this local economy that is production and distribution of medical cannabis!
Clinics in the crosshairs
The legal clinic is similar to the Dutch coffee shop system, with one difference - they go against national policy while coffee shops have been set up by the government.
These medical cannabis dispensaries are the goal of the Obama administration. A protest was filed by a group of lawyers and activists to bring to an end this crusade against the clinics directly with quote U.S. Attorney General, the Minister of Justice, the American leader of the DEA Michelle Leonard as well as four prosecutors who act without authorization from their supervisor.
A disagreement between Washington and Loss Angeles
The situation created a split among local power and federal power. The California economy is the eighth leading in the world, and cannabis allows the Golden State make money at the expenditure of the federal government.
Some time ago Californians re-elected their Governor and former Attorney General Jerry Brown, who was for the medical marijuana, and has even initiated its legislation to get better the legal status of patients on prescription.
The support of Governor Brown, the protest filed against representatives of the Federal Government and the people’s choice of at the questions are just as many indicators that show a trend opposite to the choice of the federal government.
The question is how far the gap between local and federal law may be extended until one of the two sides do not make a decisive move for the opportunity of cannabis in California.