MARIJUANA IS A STATE RIGHTS ISSUE

The legalization of marijuana needs to be a state issue (10th amendment - 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 not a federal one, said our Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks. He said states need to look at what happens in Colorado in the coming years.

Over the weekend, President Obama addressed the issue during an interview with The New Yorker. The president said marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol and also talked about growing up and smoking marijuana as a kid. Obama called it a bad habit and a vice.
Colorado legalized the sale of the drug on Jan. 1. A similar law goes into effect in the state of Washington in a few months. Congressman Brooks said he wants to see what the long term impact is in Colorado.
"We're going to have a test case that will help us better understand what the effect of the legalization of marijuana is," Brooks said. "For example, student test scores: are the test scores going up or are they going down?" Brooks said it's up to the people and lawmakers of Alabama, but doesn't want it addressed in D.C.

"There's no way in the world that I have the kind of experience that the President of the United States has with alcohol, marijuana and other hard drugs. He's got personal experience. I don't, with those kinds of very dangerous substances," said Brooks.