Legal-Ease: How is marijuana use legal and illegal at the same time?

Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney with Schroeder Law LLC in Ottawa. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at lee@leeschroeder.com or at (419) 523-5523. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.

While the Federal Controlled Substances Act prohibits the production, possession and distribution throughout all of the United States of marijuana, some states have reduced or even eliminated state penalties relating to marijuana. When states decrease penalties in this manner, it’s referred to as “decriminalization.” Decriminalization typically means that society officially discourages this act, but that the penalties surrounding it are so small that the discouragement is minimal. “Legalization” removes all penalties surrounding an act, and decriminalization and legalization are different.

The federal Controlled Substances Act prohibits the production, possession and distribution of marijuana everywhere in the United States.

Additional federal laws prohibit transportation of marijuana across state lines and disallow possession of marijuana on federal property.

Read more about marijuana and the laws surrounding it in Lee’s post in the Lima News here: Legal-Ease: How is marijuana use legal and illegal at the same time?

Source: LimaOhio.com, “Legal-Ease: How is marijuana use legal and illegal at the same time?” by Lee R. Schroeder, February 20, 2016

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