The reason for this form of government is that the will of the people can be fickle and self serving. Originally, the states elected our national senators to further insulate lawmaking from the destructive forces of true democracy. We changed that long ago and that is why the US Senate is the immature and dysfunctional body that it is today.
Fast forward to the issues of today, when the United States is double minded toward marijuana use. 20 years ago the idea of legalized medical or recreational marijuana would have been unheard of to either democrats or republicans. Today, the dems have folded to the point that it is a party platform. Now, the repubs are tripping over themselves to lead America down the stoned path of destruction.
The House made a surprising move this week, approving a measure that would prohibit the Drug Enforcement Administration from busting state-licensed medical marijuana operations in violation of federal law. 49 Republicans supported the bill, a dozen more than when the measure was first proposed in 2012.
It was also co-sponsored by a Republican, Rep. Dana Rohrabache. The measure passed with just one vote to spare, 219-189.
The house of representatives is always sensitive to the popular opinion of the people, that was the idea. Without a moral ground to guide and give bearing, America will continue to embrace drug use and there is very little to give resistance.
Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, a physician, declared during floor debate that medical marijuana is a sham. Real medicine, he said, “is not two joints a day, not a brownie here, a biscuit there. That is not modern medicine.” he found himself challenged by a colleague from his own caucus who is also a doctor. Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) spoke passionately in favor of the bill. “It has very valid medical uses under direction of a doctor,” he said. “It is actually less dangerous than some narcotics prescribed by doctors all over the country.” Georgia is among the many states experimenting with medical marijuana. A state program there allows its limited use to treat children with severe epileptic seizures.