Original Post by SafeAccessNow.org:
Under our federalist system of government, the states, rather than the federal government, are entrusted to exercise a general police power for the benefit of their citizens.
Due to this constitutional division of authority between the federal government and the states, the State of California may elect to decriminalize conduct, such as medical marijuana activity, which remains illegal under federal law.
Even if law enforcement officers take a personal position on any conflict between state and federal law, they are bound by California's Constitution to uphold state law.
Under California's medical marijuana laws, patients and caregivers are exempt from prosecution by the State of California, notwithstanding contrary federal law.
In People v. Tilehkooh (2003), the court found that California courts "long ago recognized that state courts do not enforce the federal criminal statutes."
The same court also stated "the federal criminal law is cognizable as such only in the federal courts."
In People v. Kelly(1869), it was determined that "State tribunals have no power to punish crimes against the laws of the United States as such.
The same act may, in some instances, be an offense against the laws of both, and it is only an offense against the State laws that it can be punished by the State, in any event."
In 2006, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer clarified the role and responsibility of the state in upholding medical marijuana law.
In a case where ASA is assisting a patient in seeking the return of his unlawfully seized medicine, a Superior Court ruled against the patient, claiming that, "[medical marijuana cultivation is] still illegal under federal law."
On appeal, Lockyer dismissed the entire federal law argument by stating that, "the continuing prohibition of marijuana possession under federal law" does not come into play.
Instead, Lockyer "acknowledges that - both generally and in the specific context of interpreting the Compassionate Use Act - it is not the province of state courts to enforce federal laws."
This statement is fully consistent with the declaration of the court of appeal in Garden Grove v. Superior Court (2007) that "it must be remembered it is not the job of the local police to enforce the federal drug laws as such."
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