October 19, 2012 2:35PM 

# Drug Warriors Wrong on Marijuana Ballot Initiatives 

By [Caleb O. Brown](https://www.cato.org/people/caleb-o-brown) 

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Three states’ ballot initiatives might legalize the recreational use of marijuana this year. [To the displeasure of some current and former drug warriors](http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/marijuana-legalization-on-ballot-in-3-states/2012/10/11/db15f5f6-13a8-11e2-ba83-a7a396e6b2a7_story.html), the Obama Department of Justice is silent on the matter.

Those urging the feds to weigh in, unfortunately, rest their case on some bad reasoning:

- Peter Bensinger, [DEA administrator under Jimmy Carter](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/15/dea-drug-czars-states-leg_n_1967363.html): “Federal law, the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court decisions say that this cannot be done because federal law preempts state law.”
- Tom Gorman, [director of the federal Rocky Mountain High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area](http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/marijuana-legalization-on-ballot-in-3-states/2012/10/11/db15f5f6-13a8-11e2-ba83-a7a396e6b2a7_story.html): “It’s illegal for a state to pass a constitutional measure that allows its citizens to violate federal law.”

But their claim is just not true. Here’s why. Let’s say the feds have a law banning the use of sugar in iced tea. An example of a state law that conflicts with this federal law would be one that requires the use of sugar in iced tea, not a state law that simply permits the use of sugar. A failure to adopt a law that prohibits the same thing the feds prohibit is simply not a conflict.

Another reason the Justice Department may be silent on these state ballot initiatives? [President Obama is less popular nationwide than marijuana legalization](http://www.gallup.com/poll/150149/record-high-americans-favor-legalizing-marijuana.aspx).

In [today’s Cato Daily Podcast](https://www.cato.org/multimedia/daily-podcast/marijuana-ballot-drug-warriors-react), [Tim Lynch](https://www.cato.org/people/tim-lynch) goes through some of the other reasons why these drug warriors are confused on the facts.

##### Related Tags 

[Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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