Trump is stepping carefully into the weeds of marijuana legalization 

Unlike England, from which we cribbed our legal system, America has a dual sovereignty system — the states and the federal government. Often, this leads to inconsistent statutory regimes.

For example, as of this year, 24 states — including a handful of red states — have legalized cannabis for recreational purposes. Additionally, around 40 states have legalized cannabis for medical use.

But forget about the cannabis shop around the corner with flashing neon signage resembling a Bruce Nauman wall relief and the pungent smell of grass on the streets. The federal government had, until now, classified marijuana in the same category as heroin.

Congress was always suspicious of marijuana. The lawmakers bought the testimony of psychiatrists who called it a “gateway drug” used, as beat poet Allen Ginsberg put it, by “angel headed hipsters destroyed by madness starving hysterical naked … looking for an angry fix.” 

Smoking a joint was a moral red line for many. In 1987, Ronald Reagan pulled the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Douglas Ginsburg when it was revealed that Ginsburg had used marijuana “on a few occasions.” That gave us Justice Anthony Kennedy.   

Moral perceptions change with the times. Bill Clinton, before taking office, had to confess that he once took a puff but famously claimed that he “didn’t inhale.” Barack Obama openly admitted to smoking marijuana during his youth, discussing it in his 1995 memoir “Dreams from My Father.” He contrasted his behavior with Clinton’s stating, “When I was a kid, I inhaled. That was the point.” The voters elected them anyway.

There is rarely a method in President Trump’s madness. He has been uneven about easing federal controls on marijuana. In........

© The Hill