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116 W. Va. L. Rev. 1 (Fall 2013)
Conflicting Federal and State Medical Marijuana Policies: A Threat to Cooperative Federalism

handle is hein.journals/wvb116 and id is 9 raw text is: CONFLICTING FEDERAL AND STATE MEDICAL MARIJUANA POLICIES: A THREAT TO COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM Todd Grabarsky* ABSTRACT ...................2.......... ................2 I. INTRODUCTION ..................2......... ...............2 II. THE LEGAL STATUS OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA ....................6 A. California's Medical Mariuana Laws .......................6 B. Federal Drug Laws Concerning Medical Marijuana ...........9 III. A SCHRODINGER'S CAT OF LEGALITY .......... ................10 A. De Jure Possibilities to Reconcile the Conflict ofLaws................... 11 1. Commandeering .................................... 11 2. Preemption .................................. ......11 3. Conditional Spending................................13 B. Federal Executive Law Enforcement ........... ........... 14 IV. SHIFTING IN FEDERAL EXECUTIVE ENFORCEMENT POLICY: A THREAT TO COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM ...........................16 A. Recent Changes in Federal Enforcement of the CSA ..... ..... 16 B. The Threat to Cooperative Federalism.................... 18 V. COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM CONCERNS IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT LEGALIZATION OF RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA IN Two STATES.....20 VI. A PROPOSED EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR STATE-LEGAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA.......................24 A. The Futility ofInternal Executive Restraint........... .....25 B. A Congressional Exemption for Medical Marifuana in Compliance with State Law ...................... 28 VII. CONCLUSION: THE VIABILITY OF A STATE-SPECIFIC FEDERAL EXEMPTION ..................3......1.. ..................31 * J.D., Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; B.A., University of Pennsylvania. The author has previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edward J. Davila of the United States Dis- trict Court, Northern District of California. The author wishes to thank the following individuals for their invaluable edits, suggestions, and support: Marci Hamilton, Stewart Sterk, Shana In- spektor, and Bryon Moser. 1

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