The Plant That's Threatening Federalism | Natalie Reed

From a very young age we were being told how dangerous and awful cigarettes were for our bodies. I can remember sitting in my elementary school auditorium staring at a disgusting black spotted pig lung and listening to a man explain that this is what a human lung looks like after it is exposed to cigarette smoke for so many years. By the time I was of age to legally purchase cigarettes they were pretty much out of fashion. It weird to think that smoking was ever a trend but it was as much of a trend in the U.S. as UGGs or scrunchies were. The difference, however, is that cigarettes ended up being a deadly trend. Old Fashioned Cigarette Ad Not only was being a cigarette smoker proven to be deadly, but so was being around cigarette smokers. While the effects of secondhand smoke are not as direct or speedy, they can still result in all of the same consequences of smoking like cancer, and even death. Trends fade in and out and are usually replaced by something new, but still s...

CBD Oil CBD,  Cannabidiol, has been becoming increasingly popular, but very few people seem to actually know what it is. According to Jon Johnson's article in Medical News Today , " CBD is one of many compounds, known as cannabinoids, that are found in the cannabis plant." One of the main questions right now is whether or not CBD is marijuana.  In order to understand this we have to understand what marijuana is composed of. Marijuana contains CBD and THC which are two very different compounds that have very different affects on the body. So essentially CBD is just a component of marijuana, it is not marijuana itself. The THC is the part of marijuana that is known for producing the high that people feel after smoking or ingesting marijuana. CBD, on the other hand, is not psychoactive, but it also has been proven to have possible health benefits.  Most of the CBD used medically comes from hemp, which is a less processed form of the cannabis plant. Hemp and marijua...

When President Trump took office earlier this year, the marijuana debate was reignited. Under the Obama administration, the federal regulation of marijuana use and state legalization was put on the back burner. Many people claimed that Obama might even be a proponent of marijuana use, due to some speculation of his previous history with the plant. In any case, the Trump administration has decided to take a much more hands on approach to the issue, and prosecute individuals who are found violating the federal law.  Under the Obama administration there was a memo in place called the Cole Memo that basically  instructed how the federal prosecution of marijuana use was to be handled. In most cases, users would not be prosecuted for illegal marijuana use or possession, unless they were violating state and federal law. When Trump began his presidency, his Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the memo and made it clear that the Trump administration would be cracking down on i...

For anyone that has ever had a social studies or government class, you know all about the foundation of the U.S. government and the separation of powers between the states and the federal government known as federalism. Now how exactly is a simple plant threatening the whole institution of American government? The cannabis plant has stirred quite the controversy in the U.S. for many years, and the legalization of it in the states while the federal government still opposes it has called federalism into question. Who has more power? The correct answer is the federal government. The laws put in place by the federal government are the supreme laws of the land. How then are states defying federal laws and getting away with it? It appears that in this case that the federal government has decided to take a step back and give the states a pass. Considering the new administration's more conservative way of governing, will the federal government soon crack down on these defiant states, ...