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‘federalism’

New Paper on Murphy v. NCAA, Commandeering, and State Marijuana Reforms

Jun. 15, 2020—I’ve just posted a new paper analyzing Murphy v. NCAA, the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision invalidating a federal statute that barred the states from legalizing sports gambling: Murphy’s Mistake, and How to Fix it (SSRN). I previously blogged about the case here. The new paper discusses the case and its implications for state marijuana reforms in much greater depth. The paper has also been...

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New Congressional Farm Bill Legalizes Some Marijuana

Dec. 13, 2018—[Updated 12/21 10:45 am: As expected, President Trump signed the Farm Bill into law on Dec. 20. The Commissioner of the FDA also issued a notable statement on the Bill (h/t to Doug Berman). The Commissioner emphasizes the points I make below regarding the ongoing limitations imposed by the FDCA on the use of CBD...

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Analysis of the Warren-Gardner STATES Act

Jun. 7, 2018—[Update 6/8: I redrafted some of the language below for clarity and conciseness.] On June 7, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D MA) and Cory Gardner (R CO) formally introduced legislation to eliminate much of the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws. A full copy of the proposed legislation, called the “Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through...

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Arizona Supreme Court says State May not Criminalize Possession of Medical Marijuana on College Campuses

May. 25, 2018—On Wednesday, in Arizona v. Maestas, the Arizona Supreme Court invalidated a 2012 state statute that had criminalized the simple possession of medical marijuana on college campuses. The Court found that the statutory prohibition conflicted with a voter approved initiative—the 2010 Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA). The AMMA lists a handful of places where the legislature...

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My Reactions to Cory Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act

Aug. 4, 2017—Senator Cory Booker (D NJ) has introduced a proposal to repeal the federal marijuana ban. In a nutshell, Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act would exempt marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act. I believe Booker’s proposal to is incomplete (and therefore, both unwise and politically unpalatable) because it fails to offer any replacement for prohibition. I develop...

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