Justice Clarence Thomas Speaks On Federal Marijuana Laws

Clarence Thomas, the only African American on the Supreme Court, said that federal laws against marijuana may not be necessary.

According to NBC News, the court declined to hear the appeal of a Colorado medical marijuana dispensary that was denied federal tax breaks, however, the conservative judge wrote, “A prohibition on interstate use or cultivation of marijuana may no longer be necessary or proper to support the federal government’s piecemeal approach.”

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He also added, “Federal policies of the past 16 years have greatly undermined its reasoning. The federal government’s current approach is a half-in, half-out regime that simultaneously tolerates and forbids local use of marijuana.”

Thomas cited a Supreme Court’s ruling in 2005 upholding federal laws making marijuana possession illegal as being dated, explaining, “Under this rule, a business that is still in the red after it pays its workers and keeps the lights on might nonetheless owe substantial federal income tax.”

Under federal tax law, cannot businesses are not allowed to deduct their business expenses.