so, if you get caught driving stoned in a state where pot is legal, like colorado, do they hit you with federal law, once you're under charges related to possession at the state level?

i mean, are the feds obligated to step in at this point?

it might be a reasonable compromise, for a justice department that wants to enforce the laws, but has to deal with the electoral realities of purple state politics in colorado and potentially washington. there are purple states under republican rule, like michigan, where legalization has near majority support, and where somebody could conceivably win an election over it. appeals to the law and order base, here, could hurt the republicans in the long run in these key battlegrounds, if they come down too hard on it.

but, if somebody is dealing with legal consequences stemming from marijuana use, or is determined to have possession while being searched for some other item, like illegal guns, then it is difficult to form an argument that only some of the laws being broken deserve some kind of consequence. congress passes the laws, and that one about legalization isn't passed, yet.

the goal is ultimately not to incarcerate more people for marijuana, but to provide an incentive for responsible use. it puts in place a deal with the feds - the feds will look the other way at marijuana use for the 98% of users that harm nobody, but take initiative to get involved in the 2% of circumstances where people are using irresponsibly or to fund nefarious activities. the task for citizens, then, is simply to stay out of trouble with it, and then the feds will leave them alone.

the disincentive is perhaps heavy-handed. but, it's really not ok to drive baked....

jagmeet singh must cut his beard