This past Saturday, I spoke at the New England Cannabis Convention in Portland, Maine about “Cannabis and the Constitution: Getting Washington DC to Leave Us Alone.” I was grateful for the opportunity to speak on an issue important to myself and many Americans.
In our state of Maine, we have made a lot of progress on cannabis freedom. We have one of the nation's longest-standing medical cannabis programs, which has helped thousands of individuals with debilitating conditions find relief. This past November, by a people'e referendum, we also voted to legalize cannabis for adult use (age 21+) and are currently in the process of implementing that law.
This is why it is so troubling to me that --- for a strong pro-cannabis state like Maine --- our representation in the US Senate lacks the courage to defend our beliefs and our laws.
In fact, the man I am challenging for office next year, Senator Angus King, when asked by Vice News about Maine's cannabis laws, would only say: "They made the decision up there, so I'm not going to comment."
Maine people deserve much better than this.
When we read our US Constitution, it becomes painfully clear that Washington DC has no legitimate constitutional authority to dictate what our cannabis policies must be on the state level.
The Tenth Amendment of the US Constitution promises that certain decisions belong at the state level:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
And when we look at Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution, where the authority over certain policy areas are specifically enumerated and delegated to Congress and the federal government, there is no authority granted for Washington DC to prohibit cannabis.
When it came to alcohol prohibition, Americans acknowledged that the federal government had no such constitutional authority. That's why they amended the Constitution to grant it such authority, passing the 18th Amendment in 1919. Of course, just because alcohol prohibition became constitutional doesn't mean it stopped being stupid. Thankfully, Americans "sobered up," realized the error of prohibition and repealed that authority with the 21st Amendment in 1933.
But this lack of constitutional authority hasn't stopped Washington DC from overstepping their limits and enforcing nationwide cannabis prohibition anyway.
Even as states like Maine have decided to protect cannabis freedom, Washington DC continues to threaten us all and stand in our way: they deny cannabis businesses access to banking, they strip cannabis patients of their 2nd Amendment rights and the current US Attorney General has even asked for authority prosecute and jail those involved in state medical cannabis programs.
Yet, even in a pro-cannabis state like Maine, our representatives in DC are silent.
If we are to ever get Washington DC to respect our cannabis freedoms and leave us alone, we can no longer be satisfied with representatives who won't stand up for us.
I promise this: when I arrive in the US Senate, I will not be silent. I will stand up for our constitutional rights and for cannabis freedom for all Mainers and all Americans.
We can get Washington DC to get out of the way, but we have to work for it and elect leaders who understand our Constitution and possess the backbone to defend it.
For Liberty!
Eric Brakey
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