Assignment: Federalism

You are a business owner who recently started a marijuana(cannabis) business in Los Angeles, California.

As you know from the live session, recreational and medical marijuana(cannabis) is legal in California (i.e., under state law) but continues to be illegal under federal law. Specifically, Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act, which categorized marijuana(cannabis) as a Schedule 1 drug. Other Schedule 1 drugs include heroin and LSD. Furthermore, Congress can regulate and restrict the intrastate (entirely within a state) consumption of marijuana(cannabis) via the Commerce Clause (See Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005); more about the Commerce Clause in Week 7).

To build awareness, you decide to write a blog post (similar to the one provided in your reading this week) that will be circulated widely. The intended audience will be other business owners and employees working at marijuana(cannabis) businesses.

In your blog post, you will address the following:

1. Supremacy Clause and Preemption: Provide a detailed explanation of how these concepts apply to the issue of marijuana. [8 points]
2. Knowing that preemption is a possible, identify and explain three steps a business owner should take to plan for a possible raid or shut down. In your explanation, provide why you would take the step and the relevant authority supporting that step. [6 points]
3. Knowing that marijuana(cannabis) is still illegal under federal law, explain why you think lawyers are hesitant to represent clients in this space? [3 points]
4. Ask your employees if they would be interested in petitioning the state bar to allow non-lawyers to render advice in this area. In other words, provide a persuasive explanation on whether marijuana business advice could be an area for non-lawyer participation. [3 points]

Remember that the format for this assignment is a blog post. Consider using an appealing title and subheadings to organize the post. To support your writing, consider using elements of IRAC throughout.