Congress Key – Executive Congressional inaction risks 2016 reversal of executive guidelines Boyd et al, 14 (Graham Boyd, Visiting Senior Fellow for the Third Way Social Policy & Politics Program, Sarah Trumble, Policy Counsel for the Third Way Social Policy & Politics Program and Lanae Erickson Hatalsky, Director of the Third Way Social Policy & Politics Program, June 2014, “Marijuana Legalization: Does Congress Need to Act?”, The next few years will bring a diversity of state approaches to marijuana. In some states, any marijuana activity will remain a crime. In others, decriminalization measures will make personal use of the drug a civil offense like a speeding ticket, subject simply to a low-level punishment like a rather than jail time. In many others, a limited exception for those with a medical recommendation will allow some degree of legal regulated use, production, and sale of marijuana. And in a growing number of states, marijuana use will be legal for adults, and marijuana production and sale will be legal for licensed entities. If a state wants to treat marijuana use as a crime, the federal government will continue to cooperate with efforts to ensure their criminal framework is achieving federal public safetygoals. If a state creates a sufficiently strict regulatory framework that protects those same federal interests, federal should provide assurance that those who play by the rules will not be punished, while partnering with state The time for Congress to act is to hold accountable those who don't. That is exactly what a "waive but restrict" approach would do. now. In 2016, a new president, and potentially a new party, will be elected to the White House. If Congress has done nothing by then, a new administration could reverse the Obama guidelines, file preemption lawsuits against Colorado, Washington, and any other state that has legalized marijuana by that point, and prosecute anyone who has participated in their markets. On the other hand, a new administration could potentially go even further in the direction of federal non-intervention. If Congress doesn't act, the next President could unilaterally make major shifts in the federal government's policy towards states that have legalized marijuana—and what the next policy might look like is anyone's guess.
Congress Key – Executive Congressional inaction risks 2016 reversal of executive guidelines Boyd et al, 14 (Graham Boyd, Visiting Senior Fellow for the Third Way Social Policy & Politics Program, Sarah Trumble, Policy Counsel for the Third Way Social Policy & Politics Program and Lanae Erickson Hatalsky, Director of the Third Way Social Policy & Politics Program, June 2014, “Marijuana Legalization: Does Congress Need to Act?”, The next few years will bring a diversity of state approaches to marijuana. In some states, any marijuana activity will remain a crime. In others, decriminalization measures will make personal use of the drug a civil offense like a speeding ticket, subject simply to a low-level punishment like a rather than jail time. In many others, a limited exception for those with a medical recommendation will allow some degree of legal regulated use, production, and sale of marijuana. And in a growing number of states, marijuana use will be legal for adults, and marijuana production and sale will be legal for licensed entities. If a state wants to treat marijuana use as a crime, the federal government will continue to cooperate with efforts to ensure their criminal framework is achieving federal public safetygoals. If a state creates a sufficiently strict regulatory framework that protects those same federal interests, federal should provide assurance that those who play by the rules will not be punished, while partnering with state to hold accountable those who don't. That is exactly what a "waive but restrict" approach would do. The time for Congress to act is now. In 2016, a new president, and potentially a new party, will be elected to the White House. If Congress has done nothing by then, a new administration could reverse the Obama guidelines, file preemption lawsuits against Colorado, Washington, and any other state that has legalized marijuana by that point, and prosecute anyone who has participated in their markets. On the other hand, a new administration could potentially go even further in the direction of federal non-intervention. If Congress doesn't act, the next President could unilaterally make major shifts in the federal government's policy towards states that have legalized marijuana—and what the next policy might look like is anyone's guess.