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As Americans face chronic diseases that cannot be cured, some of the population is turning to marijuana use to cope with the pain. Ten States in this nation have State laws that allow the usage of marijuana for medical usage. The Supreme Court struck down against the legal marijuana users by stating that the federal government has all rights to enforce its national law. The decision, however, did not contest against the validity of either the state or the federal law for marijuana usage. This case is one of many conflicts that the nation has faced and struggled over the course of history, the fight over state’s rights. However, the case also conflicts with some constitutional provisions and the doctrine of medical necessity. The intertwining laws and doctrines call for a compromise between the state and the federal government over this issue.

The conflicting laws in this issue are the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 and each of the ten state’s individual law that allows medical marijuana usage. The states passed theses laws after the federal government passed the Controlled Substance Act, which implies that the states did not initiate a large-scale request to the federal government to curve the illegal use of marijuana usage by making an exception for medical usages.

It is fair to assume that during the time of the negotiation, if there was, majority of Americans felt that marijuana use for all practical purposes was immoral and should be banned. Because most federal legislatures have the pressure to represent the majority of the state’s population, the negotiation might have ended up with no significant progress for the states. Regardless if the states made such hypothetical negotiations with the federal government, the state government did not appeal enough to the federal government for their cause. They arrogantly thought that their state law can somehow nullify federal government’s jurisdiction over the matter, and as the result the state’s legislature passed their own laws to legalize a nationally illegal activity of using, growing, and distributing medical marijuana. From looking back history, the question of nullification even resulted in a Civil war. The states should not test the repeating history from happening again.

The Supreme Court’s decision might be a major setback for medical marijuana users, but the state government can do more to protect its citizens from potential federal prosecution. The state government must pressure its Senators and Representatives to revise the Controlled Substance Act to allow medical usage of certain drugs, such as marijuana. It would be a tough battle in Capital Hill to make such sweeping changes, but such measures are feasible, because the Democrats tend supports medical marijuana usage, while the Republicans supports state’s rights over national restriction. Negotiation between the state and the federal government to resolve the conflicting laws and establishing a compromise is essential for the medical marijuana users to continue their pain killing medication without scrutiny between the state and the national government.