Nullification is a subject that does not get nearly the attention it deserves. As tyranny from the federal government grows, especially when it comes to the useless and dangerous War on Drugs, many struggle looking for answers. What do we do when the federal government no longer represents us?

One answer is Nullification. The tenth amendment to The U.S. Constitution reads, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Meaning any laws the federal government makes that gives them power not granted to them by The Constitution or the states in null and void.

So if the state of California believes they did not give the federal government the power to regulate medical marijuana in their state, and that that power is not granted in The Constitution, then they don’t have to follow federal dictates on the matter. Opponents of “state’s rights” will say the tenth amendment was used by bigots and racists to prop up slavery, and this is true. But this doesn’t mean the federal government should have unchecked power over the states – we already see what this unlimited power is leading to in practice. Besides, the Democratic Party fought to protect slavery in the mid-1800′s; it just goes to show that maybe we should all evolve our opinions to reflect what is actually happening in this country right now.

The founding fathers were slave owners, yet they created the freest form of government ever attempted. States can’t legalize slavery, but that doesn’t mean the feds get unlimited power to direct state business. So how do we decide what laws are good, and which are not?

It comes down to the simple concept of individual rights. The feds can step in to protect the rights of a person. Slavery is an obvious infringement on the rights of those who are slaves. They are property without free will, the clearest form of denying individual rights. But if a state decides to legalize marijuana, even just for medical purposes, whose rights are being infringed upon? Who are the feds stepping in to protect?

Federal officials would argue that they are protecting families and children, but what evidence do they have of that? Is there documented evidence that legal marijuana harms families and children? Since marijuana is not legal anywhere in the world, that would be quite impossible.

The bottom line is, states don’t have to roll over and take federal pressure and their outright power grab, at least in theory. The feds hold budget money over the heads of the states as a way of making sure compliance is the mood in general. But at some point the people will have to fight back in ways they might not have considered.

- Joe Klare

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