Remarks and observations concerning American law and cultural studies as it relates to courses taken by students in the University of Osnabrück's and University of Münster's foreign law programs.
Matt LeMieux
22 November 2012
Green Rush
The election in the United States a few weeks ago was about much more than just who would be the next President. Voters in many states were faced with important, ground breaking and controversial ballot initiatives. For the first time in U.S. history voters in two states decided to recognize same gender marriage. Up to now, these marriages were recognized in a handful of states either by courts or statute.
But perhaps even more surprisingly, voters in two states decided to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. While the coffee house culture in Holland might be dying, it has perhaps found a new home in the states of Washington and Colorado.
The video above from Reuters and the SZ explains. One thing of particular note is the discussion near the end about what the federal government might do about these new state laws. State pot laws offer perhaps the best example of how confusing American federalism can be. More on that next semesters, at least for students in their 3rd semester of Uni Osnbrück's FFA.