Constitution is what empowers the federal government to control the control the behavior of the people. The use of many addictive substances has been in place for many years hence it seems that the people who use the substances have a right to use them. For example, marijuana has been used for many advantageous purposes. ‘If a law is passed to control its use, it means that the rights of some users will be violated.’1
According to the constitution, the federal government has powers that are prescribed in the constitution. Trying to amend the constitution to give the federal government powers to control drugs would be unconstitutional. ‘The federal government has no power to increase the powers it does not have hence any constitutional amendment to increase its powers is not allowed by the constitution.’3
The state governments have however the powers to ensure that the rights of the citizens in the states are not violated. In this regard, it can pass laws to control use of substances as long as the use of these substances interferes with the rights of the other citizens. According to the constitutional interpretation, the federal government has no powers to put in place laws aimed at controlling drug use. However, the state government is allowed by the constitution to pass laws that are meant to control substance use.
1. Staley, S. 1993. Drug policy and the decline of American cities. New Brunswick, N.J., U.S.A: Transaction Publishers.
2. Inciardi, J. A. 1999. The drug legalization debate. Thousand Oaks [u.a.: Sage.
3. Gottfried, T. 2000. Should drugs be legalized?. Brookfield, Conn: Twenty-First Century Books.
4. Scheb, J. M., & Scheb, J. M. 2011. Criminal law and procedure. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
The negatives of this interpretation are that it leads to unfairness among the United States’ citizens. Some people in some states fail to enjoy the privilege of using some drugs that may be important. For example, marijuana has many important uses. If it is legalized in some states and other states are left, the people in the states where it is not legalized feel being treated unfairly considering that they are under the same federal government.
The positive effects of the interpretation are that it allows the state governments to allow their citizens to use some drugs that are advantageous to individuals. Some drugs do not lead to violation of the other peoples’ rights. People perceive consumption of some drugs as leisure. It is only the state governments that are able to evaluate whether use of certain drugs violate the rights of other members of the community. ‘The state governments receive benefits when they legalize some drugs because they are able to collect taxes that can help deal with the health problems caused by use of the related drug.’2
1. Staley, S. 1993. Drug policy and the decline of American cities. New Brunswick, N.J., U.S.A: Transaction Publishers.
2. Inciardi, J. A. 1999. The drug legalization debate. Thousand Oaks [u.a.: Sage.
3. Gottfried, T. 2000. Should drugs be legalized?. Brookfield, Conn: Twenty-First Century Books.
4. Scheb, J. M., & Scheb, J. M. 2011. Criminal law and procedure. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
On my opinion, the federal government has the right to control the use of substances that lead to health problems in the society. This is because; the federal government is responsible for the provision of health services in all the states. Therefore, control of the health problems should be left of its hands. The control of the substances by the federal government creates fairness to all the citizens in all the states. “When the control of substances is left on the hands of federal government, it becomes easy to control illegal drugs in the whole of United States.”4 Otherwise, control of these drugs can be difficult if the use of these drugs is allowed in these states.
It should be considered that the constitution is meant to guide the government in performance of duties. ‘Therefore, amendment of the constitution should be such that it enables the government to pursue its policies like control of drugs in the United States.’1 The constitution should allow amendment to empower the federal government to control use of drugs that are harmful to the health of individuals.
Works cited.
1. Staley, S. 1993. Drug policy and the decline of American cities. New Brunswick, N.J., U.S.A: Transaction Publishers.
2. Inciardi, J. A. 1999. The drug legalization debate. Thousand Oaks [u.a.: Sage.
3. Gottfried, T. 2000. Should drugs be legalized?. Brookfield, Conn: Twenty-First Century Books.
4. Scheb, J. M., & Scheb, J. M. 2011. Criminal law and procedure. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
