Common Sense and Patience

The 10th Amendment to the Constitution says: 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.

This is the heart of the ongoing debate whether the federal government or the State of California, or other states, is the final judge on the various medical marijuana laws each of the states has passed or in various stages of the legislative process. The Obama administration has taken the position that the federal government will not pursue prosecution of dispensaries or regulated farms in states where marijuana is legal for medical or recreational purposes.

However, drug smuggling and sales to minors will continue to face prosecution.

So, with this as a backdrop, the Long Beach City Council in California voted Tuesday night to draft an ordinance to allow and regulate medical marijuana collectives within the city, opening another chapter in the years-long saga over whether the city has the authority to control dispensaries.

Logically, this makes eminent sense that cities, within states which allow medical marijuana to be dispensed, make the rules of the sales. In essence, this satisfies the requisite in the 10th Amendment that the PEOPLE make the laws. The Members of the City Council are our elected representatives in our Republic, and are empowered to act on our behalf.

All of the minutiae being debated and challenged are part of the process of making certain the laws passed are constitutional, that is, that no one's rights are being violated for the benefit of another, under both the Federal and State Constitutions.

But, ultimately, common sense also must prevail and in my view the city council is working with this in mind as well, as it tries to determine where the dispensaries are located. Other cities in California, Los Angeles as an example,  have successfully walked the line between rights and common sense in the marijuana dispensary issue.

Long Beach should be able to do it, too. But, it will take some time. Be patient.