The Bureaucracies That Marijuana Feeds
By Chuck And Tim Baldwin
March 26, 2011
Archived column:
http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/
On March 14, 2011, federal police agencies raided scores of
marijuana-related businesses in a number of states--including my home
State of Montana. Hundreds of people were detained, put in handcuffs,
and their property seized. To my knowledge, however, only a handful
has actually been arrested (at least in Montana).
Montana is one of several states in the union that has legalized
marijuana for medical purposes. This was accomplished with
overwhelming support from the Montana citizenry via a ballot
initiative back in 2004. However, the feds view marijuana as an
illegal drug, and seem hell-bent in forcing states such as Montana to
submit to its dictation--regardless of what the will of the people
within the states might be.
Ever since Appomattox Court House, states have been bullied into
believing that their authority is subordinate, and, yes, inferior, to
federal law. Big Government lawyers cite the US Constitution, Article.
VI. Paragraph. 2. to justify their despotism. It reads, “This
Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in
Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made,
under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of
the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any
Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary
notwithstanding.”
This paragraph of the Constitution has been construed to mean that
the federal government may dictate any law to the states and the
states have no right to resist. THIS IS NOT TRUE! Notice carefully
what the Constitution says: “This Constitution, and the Laws of the
United States WHICH SHALL BE MADE IN PURSUANCE THEREOF . . . shall be
the supreme Law of the Land.” (Emphasis added)
This means that any federal law that is NOT "made in Pursuance
thereof" or otherwise does not comport with the Constitution is NOT
the "supreme Law of the Land." Furthermore, it is the states that are
the final authority over what is and is not lawful within their
respective borders! This is the clear understanding of America's
founders, including Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who wrote the
Kentucky and Virginia resolutions, drafted in 1798 and 1799, in
response to the egregiously unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts.
In the next place, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution plainly
states, “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.”
And nowhere does the US Constitution assign local and State law
enforcement responsibility to the federal government. Nowhere!
Meaning: law enforcement is clearly and plainly the responsibility of
State and local government--not the federal government!
Pray tell, what are states doing, when they submit to the usurpation
of State power and authority by accompanying and facilitating federal
encroachment, be it the enforcement of marijuana laws--or any other
laws, for that matter? Accordingly, Montana's Attorney General Steve
Bullock should be removed from office for allowing the citizens of
Montana to be subjected to this federal overreach!
But there is much more at stake here than the alleged misuse of
medical marijuana! The feds' "war on drugs" has inflicted as much
damage to constitutional governance and individual liberty than just
about anything I can think of. At this point, my constitutional
attorney son, Tim Baldwin, picks up the column.
For almost 100 years in the United States, countless resources have
been spent feeding--oops--I mean, “fighting” the “war on
drugs”, specifically marijuana. Before that time, marijuana was
largely acceptable and viewed as inherently valuable throughout the
world. Today, medical science seems to support its use for certain
purposes--not to mention whatever social uses for which some may
advocate its use. However, since 1937, Congress has deemed that
marijuana has absolutely no medical benefit and purpose and made
anyone who possesses it subject to extreme criminal penalty. The
history behind Congress’ enactment is quite suspect, and the “war
on marijuana” deserves objective attention.
Despite Congress’ labeling marijuana as a dangerous drug without
any medical use and with a high potential for abuse, fifteen states in
the union (the last I looked) have declared otherwise. So, what
insistent force keeps Congress from removing marijuana from CSA’s
Schedule 1? Answered by historical comparison, Dwight D.
Eisenhower’s reference in 1960 to the military-industrial complex
should have included the marijuana-bureaucracy complex created by this
“war on marijuana”. As a limited point of illustration, consider
the mass raids which took place on March 14, 2011, throughout Montana
by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies--spearheaded of
course by federal agencies, with the state and local agencies acting
as tagalongs.
On March 15, 2011, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ)
released a written press statement regarding the numerous and
simultaneous raids which took place in the great state of Montana--one
of the several states which has declared by law that marijuana in fact
has medical value and is lawful to use as such. In this statement, the
DOJ listed the number of law enforcement agencies involved in the
raids. The following is an excerpt from that public statement,
indicating at least how many agencies where involved:
“he Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal
Revenue Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Environmental
Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection-Border Patrol, and the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration. These federal agencies were assisted by the
Montana Division of Criminal Investigations, and local High Intensity
Drug Trafficking Area task forces, the Northwest Drug Task Force, the
Kalispell Police Department, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office,
the Missoula Police Department, the Missoula County Sheriff’s
Office, the Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task
Force, the Great Falls Police Department, the Cascade County
Sheriff’s Office, the Central Montana Drug Task Force, the Billings
Police Department, the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, the
Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task
Force, the Dillon Police Department, the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s
Office, the Park County Sheriff’s Office, the Bozeman Police
Department, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, the Missouri River
Drug Task Force, the Helena Police Department, the Lewis & Clark
Sheriff’s Office, and the Eastern Montana Drug Task Force-Miles
City” (U.S. Department of Justice, Michael W. Cotter, United States
Attorney, District of Montana, News Advisory, March 15, 2011).
Did you get all that?! It would take some people shorter time to read
a chapter in the Bible than it would to read this list of agencies
supposedly pursuing “criminal enterprises that have violated the
Controlled Substances Act (CSA) related to marijuana.” Ibid.
So, how many government agents were involved within those departments
who were paid in that pursuance? How many government staff members or
private contractors were involved to assist those investigations? How
many high-dollar pieces of equipment and surveillance were paid for
and used in those investigations? How many clerks will be needed to
keep the public record files? How many pieces of paper will be
printed? How many prosecutors will be paid to prosecute and judges
paid to adjudicate these man-made crimes? How many public defenders
will be needed to defend them? How many jail personnel are employed to
make sure these “criminals” reside in jail? How many food
dispensaries are paid to deliver food to these same inmates? How many
fees and fines are collected from the defendants and paid to the
various governments as mandated by statute? How many drug
rehabilitation programs are funded by tax dollars to “treat” these
“drug addicts”? How many lobbyists are paid to use such statistics
to show why more taxes are needed to sustain these criminal-pursuing
operations? How many tax dollars were and will be used to pay for
every person and everything involved, directly or indirectly, in this
“war”? The numbers would undoubtedly rise into the billions. Can
anyone say job security or economic stimulation?
Drawing from my own personal experience, I see the absurdity of the
“war on marijuana”. During my time as a prosecutor at the Florida
State Attorney’s Office from 2004 to 2006 where I handled literally
thousands of criminal cases and tried nearly 60 jury trials, I was
never impressed that marijuana was the cause of any criminal activity.
Oh sure, possession of marijuana charges comprised a large number of
my criminal cases; but the criminal act was merely the man-made law of
possession of marijuana. In fact, most criminal activities were in
large part caused by alcohol, where one who consumed too much alcohol
became violent; beat his wife; neglected his children; drove drunk and
hurt someone; caused a disturbance of the peace; or other similar
evils. I saw those alcohol-related cases every day. Yet, I cannot say
the same regarding marijuana. I would estimate that of the thousands
of cases I handled, at least half (if not more) were a direct cause of
alcohol consumption or addiction. Yet, alcohol is legal and marijuana
is illegal.
In truth, about the only reason anyone can advocate for not treating
alcohol in the same legal manner as marijuana is that “alcohol is
too much ingrained into societal norms.” Try to convince an
inquiring child on that logic: it will not stand. This logic of course
is even more disturbing considering the harsh penalties carried with
marijuana laws where lives are destroyed by government action. Perhaps
too many politicians love their alcohol too much to make it a target
of reprisal.
Still, there must be a target to perpetuate the bureaucracy and
marijuana appears to be that target. Even more disturbing in the
scenario is that the States cater to the federal government’s
manipulation on the matter, making any and all activities relating to
marijuana illegal. To suppress that “evil of marijuana”, varieties
of government create pyramids of law enforcement agencies for the
large purpose of arresting persons acting in relation to marijuana,
and the ball of revenue generation rolls through the course of
government and social programs. But how else will government power,
size and control increase unless it has a “war” to wage?
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© Chuck Baldwin
NOTE TO THE READER:
Chuck Baldwin is a syndicated columnist, radio broadcaster, author, and
pastor dedicated to preserving the historic principles upon which America
was founded. He was the 2008 Presidential candidate for the Constitution
Party. He and his wife, Connie, have 3 children and 8 grandchildren. See
Chuck's complete bio at:
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