Ongoing saga of marijuana legalization sees two more states legalizing the substance

Changing States

The two newest states to legalize weed are Virginia and New Mexico. This means that there is now a southern state that has joined in the movement that is sweeping the nation, though the federal government is still presenting problems for them. One of the biggest headaches is that the banking system does not allow for people to deposit money because of federal regulations. There are raids from federal agents on people following state laws who are growing marijuana to be sold in stores. This is brought about a fight between state's rights and federal rights people.

South Dakota

The fight within South Dakota of marijuana has started with a vote that was held. The people of the state want marijuana legalized, while the state government wants to continue keeping it illegal. The governor is the main person who is fighting the results of the ballot initiative, which is causing there to be people questioning why. The state is known to be a conservative state on most matters and this is causing people in the state to define what that means to them. This can lead to the courts deciding which matters when it comes to rights.

Legal Stances

People around the nation are deciding they do not like the fact that so many of their fellow citizens are being jailed for many of the current crimes. Marijuana arrests lead to people being shunned from getting some of the better jobs and this causes them to go deeper into the criminal life. This is compounded by the fact that there are separate issues between state and federal laws on the drug. This has also got there being different ways to handle a case in each of the two court jurisdictions. This will need clarification by legislative bodies.

Medical Certainties

There are many uses for marijuana for medical professionals and few side effects that can cause any issues. While people not expecting to get high will become paranoid, there are no permanent problems that will happen. People with certain psychological illnesses are able to lead better lives because of the THC content in the drug. Many other illnesses and side effects from treatments are made more manageable from the use of marijuana. This is made better from the fact that people are unable to overdose from use. The only people affected in a negative way are those allergic.

Future Moves

Some of the next steps involved with legalization need to be a push to create a way for people to not have to worry about the federal government is a problem. This means many federal regulations need to be changed and that means Congress needs to create legislative bills on the subject. There is also the need for the executive branch to start clearing out many regulations which are making it difficult for people in states where legalization has occurred to not have to work under diverging sets of rules. Activists have a lot of work to do.

The current situation dealing with marijuana is changing faster now than it has at anytime since the prohibition started because of the drug. More accurate information is being made available in current times, so they are able to make a better decision for themselves on the topic. Before it was considered a gateway drug to using more potent drugs. Now it is considered by many to be a gateway for law enforcement to cause people to not get out of a cycle of incarceration. This is becoming one of the issues shaping the current legal arguments that matter to people.