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Dopers, Democrats, and even a few doper Republicans have emerged from a thick cloud of pot smoke, roused out of their munchy stupor by Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement the executive branch of the federal government would actually enforce federal drug laws. The Washington Post, fellow travelers at least, reports:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday made it easier for U.S. prosecutors to enforce federal marijuana laws in states that had legalized the substance — drawing swift criticism from jurisdictions that have approved pot use and stirring confusion among entrepreneurs in the burgeoning billion-dollar industry.

Whether Sessions’s Justice Department actually busts dispensaries or others involved in state-approved pot production remains to be seen, but his decision to undo previous guidance and possibly put a federal crackdown on the table riled business people, legislators and civil liberties advocates across the country.

Though marijuana already was illegal under federal law, the Justice Department during the Obama administration had issued guidance — which Sessions revoked — discouraging enforcement of the law in states where it was legal.

Not quite. AG Sessions is merely adding another brick in the restoration of the rule of law wall, a wall all but dismantled during the Obama Administration. On supposes, however, that actually indicating the will to enforce rather than selectively ignore federal law might make “it easier” to enforce such laws. That such a bold and unusual initiative might rile “civil liberties advocates,” indicates an urgent need for basic civics education. After all, if one doesn’t have the right to smoke pot whenever and wherever one wishes, what other right truly matters? How can western civilization endure without such fundamental liberties?

Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) immediately demonstrated his knowledge of the Constitution and his unwavering support for the rule of law:

And in the best tradition of Sally Yates and The Resistance, Colorado’s U.S. Attorney, Bob Troyer, did likewise:

Thus do we see, gentle readers, some of the destruction wrought by the Obamites. There is no question that not every law, local, state and federal, is rigorously enforced. Law enforcers know legislators sometimes write laws just to “make a statement,” such as “we’re idiots!” There simply aren’t enough enforcers, and they must use their limited time and resources as effectively as possible. However, deciding on a national basis never to enforce an entire class of legitimately enacted and demonstrably public-safety related law doesn’t fall into the category of legitimate prioritization of enforcement resources, at least not for sane people.

After eight years of such anti-constitutional, anti-rule of law progressive politicization of justice, it would seem at least one Republican senator, and one of the small number of U.S. Attorneys have come to think enforcement of the law is not only optional, politicizing it is entirely appropriate, indeed, to be expected. Of course, Colorado has, since 2014, been shrouded in a thick haze of pot smoke, giving “Rocky Mountain High” a less ambiguous meaning. Thus one might expect this sort of effect from second hand exposure, or perhaps this is more a personal issue for those public officials? Perhaps Gardner and Troyer are not only never-Trumpers, but always-tokers? But let us move beyond such idle speculation to the promised civics primer.

Legislative (circa 2017): Our constitutional republic has three branches of government. Senator Gardner is a member of one half of the legislative branch. He, and his fellow legislators, are solely responsible for writing “laws.” In the House of Representative, if a majority approves a “bill,” say, a bill outlawing marijuana in the United States, it becomes a law. The same thing occurs in the Senate, but only with the approval of Democrats, regardless of how many Republicans vote for a bill. This is called “tradition,” and is a feature, not a bug, of the “greatest deliberative body in the world.” If you don’t believe it, gentle readers, ask the Republicans, who generally use that word and phrase to explain why they can’t pass laws even when they have a majority, and a Republican House and president. This is also called the “status quo,” which may be translated as “Democrats always rule, nyah, nyah, nyah!”

The point is, if Senator Gardner doesn’t like a given law, he and his colleagues, and only he and his colleagues, have the power to alter or repeal that law, unless of course, Democrats don’t want to.

Executive (circa 2016): Prior to the Age of Obama, it was the sole power and responsibility of the President of the United States, and those elected and appointed employees under his constitutional power, to faithfully uphold the laws passed by the Congress, the so-called “Legislative Branch.” This “Executive Branch” would include the Attorney general, the Department of Justice, and all federal agencies, including those with law enforcement powers and lots of guns, like the Department of Education and the Federal Bureau of Chicken Sexing. But during the Age of Obama, a new innovation was introduced: the President, using nothing but a pen and phone, could not only write laws, but repeal them, all the while doing absolutely nothing to actually remove them from the books! He also had no obligation to follow the Constitution, though he often claimed anyone trying to do that was actually destroying the Constitution, as well as clinging to God and guns, which was even worse, until Hillary Clinton pointed out they were deplorable too. This was an enormous leap forward for governmental efficiency, as members of the legislative branch no longer had to even pretend to do their jobs, though they routinely made a great deal of noise about what they weren’t doing but would if the president wasn’t such a poopy face who said mean things to them which kept them from doing their jobs. True, the House of Representatives had the power of the purse, but they dared not use that because Democrats would say mean things about them, and they wouldn’t get invited to parties anymore.

Judicial (circa 2017): This is a branch of somber people in black robes who “interpret” the law, which means “repeal or write any law we want, because Trump!” The function of this branch of government may also be interpreted to mean: “declaring anything President Trump does, says, thinks, or might possibly do at some point in the future is unconstitutional.” This should give judges a great deal more time to handle additional cases, but somehow, that never happens.

This has apparently confused Sen. Gardner, who as a Republican, should want judges to limit themselves to the role outlined in the Constitution. It seems, however, he’s still caught up in the glories and Chinese politburo efficiency of pen and phone government. Instead of doing his job he’s apparently decided not to let anyone else be a judge–or do any other federal job–until President Trump and Attorney General Sessions say they will never again do anything as rash as actually enforcing the laws the legislative branch has passed. For many years, Democrats controlled the entire federal government, yet never repealed the drug laws Gardner now abhors, but that doesn’t matter, because Trump!

So rather than do what legislators are supposed to do–actually do the work necessary to convince a sufficient number of Representatives and Senators to repeal federal drug laws; Democrats should like that–Senator Gardner is threatening to prevent President Trump from filling vital positions throughout the federal government, including replacing members of the DOJ and judiciary that ignore the Constitution. Sen. Gardner is actually threatening to prevent President Trump from fully restoring the rule of law, which not only would fully restore the constitutional powers of the Legislative Branch, but would also force them to honor their responsibilities…oh.

credit: hngh.com

Never-Trump, Always-Toker indeed.