Words by Comfort Nnana Kalu
January 1st will be the first day of legalized marijuana in California. Although this is well-received news, there will still be a ton of regulations. The Associated Press reported that federal agents would still confiscate your weed on busy freeways, back country highways and border patrols will still consider possession of weed a controlled substance and will take your weed. These set back are a result of the state law being in conflict with federal law.
The Assistant chief of Border Patrol San Diego division, Ryan Yamaski, has stated that nothing on their end has changed:
“Prior to Jan. 1, it’s going to be the same after Jan.1, because nothing has changed on our end. If you’re a federal law enforcement agency, you uphold federal laws.”
The state law clashes with federal law because federal law still puts marijuana in the same lane as stronger substances such as heroin and LSD.
California’s new law will allow anyone over the age of 21 to carry up to an ounce but forty percent of marijuana seizures from 2012-2016 were as a result of carrying an ounce or less. Luckily, though eighty-seven percent of drugs being confiscated are marijuana the charges are often dropped and many are usually just fingerprinted and photographed.
