Drug War And The Constitution

The following are the only powers ever granted to the US federal government, AKA; Congress;

Section 8 - Powers of Congress
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

What part of that gives Congress the power to prohibit the possession and use of Cannabis? What part gives them the power to tax the citizenry and use those taxes to fund the DEA with billions of dollars to prosecute Cannabis users? There simply is no such power granted.

What if they say that the power to enforce the "Law of Nations" gives them the power to use taxes to enforce UN narcotics conventions. Hardly. Here's what "Law of Nations" actually means;

"§ 7. Definition of necessary law of nations.

We use the term necessary Law of Nations for what law which results from applying the natural law to Nations. It is necessary, because Nations are absolutely bound to observe it. It contains those precepts which the natural dictates to States, and it is no less binding upon them than it is upon individuals. For States are composed of men, their policies are determined by men, and these men are subject to the natural law under whatever capacity they act. This same law is called by Grotius and his followers the internal Law of Nations, inasmuch as it is binding upon the conscience of Nations. Several writers call it the natural Law of Nations.

§ 8. It is not subject to change.

Since, therefore, the necessary Law of Nations consists in applying the natural law to States, since the natural is not subject to change, being founded on the nature of things and particularly upon the nature of man, it follows that the necessary Law of Nations is not subject to change." http://www.pixi.com/~kingdom/lawintro.html

Obviously, banning a plant is not part of "natural law". It was never suggested by the "God" that the Presidents all swear an oath to. It was simply made up by politicians. Clearly, prosecuting Cannabis users is not one of Congress's powers granted by the Constitution under that section.

The federal politicians may think that the general welfare part in the tax and spending clause allows them to make laws to protect its citizens from the killer weed and use tax funds to pay for it. Well, Thomas Jefferson said otherwise and I'm inclined to believe him over modern politicians when it come to interpreting the Constitution but perhaps the President and Congress would like to appear in the Supreme Court and argue that their own interpretations are far more valid than that of Thomas Jefferson. The following quote is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General...#United_States

"The United States Constitution contains two references to "the General Welfare", one occurring in the Preamble and the other in the Taxing and Spending Clause. It is only the latter that is referred to as the "General Welfare Clause" of this document. However, it has been argued that, in the case of the United States Constitution, the statement regarding the "general welfare" was not then and is not now intended to give plenary power to the federal government.[2] These clauses in the U.S. Constitution are exceptions to the typical use of a general welfare clause, and are not considered grants of a general legislative power to the federal government as the U.S. Supreme Court has held:
* the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution "has never been regarded as the source of any substantive power conferred on the Government of the United States or on any of its Departments";[3][4] and,
* that Associate Justice Joseph Story's construction of the Article I, Section 8 General Welfare Clause—as elaborated in Story's 1833 Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States—was the correct interpretation.[5][6] Justice Story concluded that the General Welfare Clause was not an independent grant of power, but a qualification on the taxing power which included within it a power to spend tax revenues on matters of general interest to the federal government.
Thomas Jefferson explained the latter general welfare clause for the United States: “[T]he laying of taxes is the power, and the general welfare the purpose for which the power is to be exercised. They [Congress] are not to lay taxes ad libitum for any purpose they please; but only to pay the debts or provide for the welfare of the Union. In like manner, they are not to do anything they please to provide for the general welfare, but only to lay taxes for that purpose.”

Notice the last sentence in Jefferson's quote. That is exactly what Congress was doing when it enacted Cannabis prohibition;
Jefferson; "they are not to do anything they please to provide for the general welfare, but only to lay taxes for that purpose."
This shows us just how far Congress has strayed from the intentions of the founding fathers, they are now doing the exact opposite of what Thomas Jefferson told them they could do. I think that's commonly referred to as "violating the Constitution of the United States of America and spitting on Thomas Jefferson's grave".


So how is Congress paying the billions of dollars to fund their war on drugs through the DEA? From taxes. Where in the Constitution does it say they can lay taxes for that purpose? Nowhere. They probably used this part to justify putting such a high tax on hemp trade that it made it completely impractical to produce;

"To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes"

But how does that give them the power to flat out prohibit even the possession of Cannabis? Obviously it doesn't. Congress used that part to get control on pharmaceuticals trade but what if you are simply growing and using Cannabis yourself? That doesn't involve commerce at all.

So, in conclusion, there is no constitutional basis for federal prohibition of Cannabis, which would require an amendment as in the case of alcohol, unless modern politicians want to make the argument that a constitutional amendment was made in the 20th century without reason and then another was made to inactivate the first one when they changed their minds. I think that would be a hard case to make. Or do they maintain that suddenly during Nixon's Presidency the whole constitutional process was changed allowing him to make up the CDSA and make up the idea that Cannabis is the same as heroin and should therefore be treated the same way legally. The fact that Nixon is a criminal and was impeached should give you a clue to the validity of that argument. There is also no constitutional basis for taxing Americans to enforce that unconstitutional prohibition. If the individual states want to outlaw Cannabis, that's one thing. The federal government doing it is quite another. That is simply not within their constitutional powers, period. If a state decides not to prosecute Cannabis possession, that's the end of the matter. The feds cannot overrule that. That's my opinion, unless someone can explain how it is erroneous.

This part of the page I linked about the definition of Law of Nations is also interesting;

"§ 9. Nations can not change it nor release themselves from its obligations. Since this law is not subject to change and the obligations which it imposes are necessary and indispensable, Nations can not alter it by agreement, nor individually or mutually release themselves from it.
It is by the application of this principle that a distinction can be made between lawful and unlawful treaties or conventions and between customs which are innocent and reasonable and those which are unjust and deserving condemnation."


I say that the UN narcotics conventions requiring nations to impose drug control laws are not lawful because Cannabis prohibition is not a natural law and does not even serve a helpful purpose. Therefore, the feds can't use those treaties as justification for violating the Constitution. The scheduling of Cannabis in the same category as opiates in the UN conventions is obviously just flat out wrong, another very good reason why that treaty is invalid and against the Law of Nations. The UN is inflicting their uninformed personal opinions about Cannabis onto all nations, without the slightest scientific or legal justification. Therefore, the UN must be tried in the World Court for attempting to force America to violate its own Constitution. Is Hitler running the UN now?

Here's a quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_law_enforcement_in_the_United_States

"All federal agencies are limited by the U.S. Code to investigating only matters that are explicitly within the power of the federal government. However, federal investigative powers have become very broad in practice, especially since the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act in October 2001."

Cannabis prohibition enforcement is not within the power of the federal government, because Cannabis prohibition is unconstitutional in the first place, as proven by alcohol prohibition requiring an amendment. Not only is such a requirement obvious from the wording of the Constitution in the first place, it is confirmed by the precedent of the 18th amendment. So what happened between then and now that nullified that requirement? Did the founding fathers come back and rewrite the Constitution, or did politicians just decide that the Constitution no longer applies? It must be one or the other. There are no other possibilities. Of course, the Patriot Act is merely another name for "throwing the Constitution in the garbage".

A very valid and good argument. I agree that the prohibition of a naturally occuring plant is proof that our species is by far the most suppressive and dominate. I think law makers don't know or forget that this plant has a RIGHT(Not a privilege) to be free, grow wildly,and evolove. The position of the Nixon Administration was to eradicate all cannabis plants ( completely impossible,unless you got a couple nuclear bombs to end human exsistence). I think that is where us humans really started to abuse and disrespect the blessing and grace of planet earth and her ability to sustain human life. How ignorrant of us to tell a planet that supports our very exsistence what it may or may not grow. Ignorrance is Bliss amongst our own kind. We need to have some sort of change that would allow for the re classification of this medicine. Furthermore, we need to stop telling this planet what it can and cant do. Cannabis is a naturally occuring plant. That is its evolution. Spontanious and by the laws of Nature. Mankinds laws should NEVER EVER infringe upon the laws of Nature, period!

Lastly, in the amendment of Alcohol prohibition, Congress recogonized FIRST, that is was UNCONSTIUTIONAL, than in that, they realized that Prohibition in general is a failure. However, now a days, most politicians treat the Constitution as a article of paper that is not worth the paper it was written on. The US Supreme court REFUSED to hear the testimony and facts that prove Cannabis Prohibition is Unconstitutional. I guess the saying " Absolute power corrupts absolutely sings loudest"! I agree, and so dont some politicans that The Patriot Act is by far the most unconstitutional article in the history of the US. It violates on so many levels that one could write a book about the size of four webster dictionaries stacked atop of one another. I believe it is fair to say, that we have drafted a new constitution that is invincible to the US citizens and is only used to bend, contort, and make up, rules, agendas, legislations that suit the powers to be, which are generally the Rich who continue to get Richer!

Sadly, the US has become a country that now have more people leaving than every before in the history of the US. Some much so that it exceeds the amount of legal immigrants. Sadly, there are more people leaving than there are new people coming in. Its a growing trend, and one I cant blame people for. IMO, they are the smart ones who are playing it safe rather than sorry and leaving behind a country destined for possible armageddon like devistation or at minimum the collapse of the US. In our history, we average ONE MAJOR WAR every 10 years! We have spent more years in either a recession or a depression than we have a rich honest thriving market. In those years, we have lost more than we can ever gain as a whole for the US. We are 5% of the worlds population but have the single largest national debt. Almost double that of China's. So much of a large debt that its equal the entire national debts of Canada, South America, Australia,and the UK! We have 5 percent of the worlds population, yet 30% of the worlds prison population. One out of every 100 Americans now has a felony!! Everyone is a criminal in the US eyes, and if your not here to benfit the rich, the US has a way to deal with you If we are not on a sure beaten path for failure, I am sure the effects of today's day and age will be the defeat of future generations!

This shit is so simple our founding fathers grew and smoked marijuana. They used to call it "indian hemp" the first American flag was stitched out of marijuana, our freakin Constitution is freakin written on marijuana. And they used to write about it too you see.

America's Founding Fathers used cannabis for many practical, everyday things, and to get high. If they could see us now, sending former cannabis seed retailer Marc Emery to rot in the godforsaken gulag of America, the world's largest jailer, they would be spinning in their graves so fast that we could solve climate change by generating energy from the spinning corpses of America's Founding Fathers.
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor and Franklin Pierce were early American presidents and cannabis users, according to Dr. Burke, president of the American Historical Reference Society and a consultant for the Smithsonian Institute.
According to MarijuanaLibrary.org, "Hemp farmer Thomas Jefferson and paper maker Ben Franklin were ambassadors to France during the initial surge of the hashish vogue. Their celebrity status and progressive revolutionary image afforded them ample opportunities to try new experiences. Jefferson smuggled Chinese hemp seeds to America and is credited with the phrase in the Declaration of Independence, "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." " Thomas Jefferson and George Washington used to exchange gifts of hemp smoking blends.
The Chinese valued their cannabis genetics so much that it was a capital offense to smuggle hemp seeds out of the country. Should Thomas Jefferson have been executed by the Chinese for smuggling the hemp seeds that were so essential to many aspects of early American everyday life? Should Marc Emery be jailed because he was fundraising for the legalization movement?
Here are some pro-cannabis and anti-prohibition quotes by some of America's most influential historical and contemporary figures.
"Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!"
- George Washington, U.S. President, in a note to his gardener at Mount Vernon
"Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country." - Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President
“Some of my finest hours have been spent on the back of my veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as the eye can see.” - Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President
"We shall, by and by, want a world of hemp more for our own consumption." - John Adams, U.S. President
"Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica." -Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President, from a letter written by Lincoln during his presidency to the head of the Hohner Harmonica Company in Germany
"Prohibition... goes beyond the bound of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded" -Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President
"Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marihuana in private for personal use... Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marihuana." - Jimmy Carter, U.S. President
"I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama, U.S. President
"The war on drugs has been an utter failure. We need to rethink and decriminalize our nation's marijuana laws." -Barack Obama, U.S. President
"The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world." - Carl Sagan, renown scientist, astronomer, astrochemist, author and TV host
"Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?" - Henry Ford, whose first Model-T car was constructed from hemp fibers and built to run on hemp gasoline
"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." - Albert Einstein, famous theoretical physicist
“Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.” William F. Buckley, Jr., prominent conservative, author, commentator and TV personality

"That is not a drug. It's a leaf." - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California

Source: http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/node/21341

But you can find all these quotes individually and theres more quotes from our founding fathers on smoking kiya.