1NC
1NC midterms
Dems will keep the Senate – breakdown of contested races proves
Killian 9/16/14 (Linda, Columnist @ Daily Beast, "Meet the One Numbers-Cruncher Who
Foresees Democrats Holding the Senate,"
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/16/meet-the-one-numbers-cruncher-whoforesees-democrats-holding-the-senate.html)
What Wang does differently than Silver and other prognosticators is base his analysis only on
AND
did on Sept 3, Orman had a good chance of defeating Roberts.
Pot legalization is a political loser for Obama – alienates key voting blocks
Abdullah 14 (Halimah, Political Analyst @ CNN, "Up in smoke: The Obama administration's
pot politics problem," http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/04/politics/pot-politics/)
Jon Gettman, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Shenandoah University, said it
AND
"They don't want to alienate a voting bloc in favor of legalization."
Obama gets the blame - midterms are a referendum on his performance
Podhoretz 3/18/14 (John, editor of Commentary magazine, columnist for the New York Post,
the author of several books on politics, and a former presidential speechwriter, NY Post,
"Obama’s failed foreign policy just another drag on Democrats,"
http://nypost.com/2014/03/18/obamas-failed-foreign-policy-just-another-drag-on-democrats/)
He is the president. It’s his watch . Americans may be war-weary, but they still look to the man
in the White House to provide an overall sense of stability and safety.¶ Democrats need
Americans to feel positively about the president going into the 2014 elections. All election
experts say the party’s showing nationally in November will correlate strongly with how the country
feels about the job the president is doing.
GOP Senate means sanctions against Iran
Pecquet 14 (Julian Pecquet, journalist, “GOP Senate Takeover Could Kill Iran Deal,” THE HILL,
1—23—14, http://thehill.com/policy/international/196170-gop-senate-takeover-could-kill-irannuclear)
A Republican takeover of the Senate this fall could scuttle one of President Obama’s biggest
AND
could also secure wins in Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina.
That green lights Israel strikes
Perr 13 (John, B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University; technology marketing consultant based in Portland,
Oregon. Jon has long been active in Democratic politics and public policy as an organizer and advisor in California and
Massachusetts. His past roles include field staffer for Gary Hart for President (1984), organizer of Silicon Valley tech
executives backing President Clinton's call for national education standards (1997), recruiter of tech executives for Al
Gore's and John Kerry's presidential campaigns, and co-coordinator of MassTech for Robert Reich (2002). 12/24,
“Senate sanctions bill could let Israel take U.S. to war against Iran” Daily Kos,
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/24/1265184/-Senate-sanctions-bill-could-let-Israel-take-U-S-to-war-againstIran#
As 2013 draws to close, the negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program have entered
AND
these costs and lead, potentially, to all-out regional war.
Escalates to major power war
Trabanco 9 (1/13/09, José Miguel Alonso Trabanco, Independent researcher of geopoltical
and military affairs “The Middle Eastern Powder Keg Can Explode at anytime,”
**http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11762**)
In case of an Israeli and/or American attack against Iran, Ahmadinejad's government
AND
to be playing with fire right in the middle of a powder keg.
1NC-T
A. “United States” means the federal government
Ballentine's Legal Dictionary and Thesaurus 95 ("United States," p. 689)
United States 1. The federal government. 2. A sovereign nation or sovereign state called the
"United States." 3. Territory over which this sovereign nation called the "United States"
exercises sovereign power.
B. The affirmative fiats the states, legalize not the fed gov – that’s a voting issue
1. Limits – non-USFG actors makes an already hard to manage topic with
diverse case areas unmanageable – individual states, combinations of states,
localities all become potential affirmative agents, exploding limits and creating
research burdens
2. Ground – USFG action ensures Negative ground in the form of core generic
disadvantages like politics and midterms, ensures link magnitude to marketbased disadvantages against legalization, and CP competition in the form of the
states counterplan – the bifurcated nature of the topic areas puts a premium on
neg generics as a means of ensuring competitive equity
Specification MATTERS in the context of marijuana legalization – the terms
themselves are too ambiguous
Kleiman 13 (Mark, Prof of Public Policy @ UCLA + Drug Policy Expert, "How to legalize
cannabis," http://www.samefacts.com/2013/12/drug-policy/how-to-legalize-cannabis/)
Debating whether to legalize pot is increasingly pointless. Unless there’s an unexpected shock to
AND
Lots of different things are legalization. Lots of different things are cannabis.
CP
CP Text: Cannabis sativa should be decriminalized in the United States. The
executive branch of the United States should clarify that industrial hemp is not
in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.
Decriminalization solves and avoids election
Blumenson and Nielson 9 (Eric – Professor of Law, Suffolk University; J.D. Harvard Law
School, and Eva – Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Boston University; J.D., University of
Virginia, “NO RATIONAL BASIS: THE PRAGMATIC CASE FOR MARIJUANA LAW REFORM”, 2009, 17
Va. J. Soc. Pol'y & L. 43, lexis)
What is needed most, of course, is a sea change in marijuana law
AND
it might draw people away from more dangerous drugs they use now. n125
Treaties
Legalizing marijuana violates international law – only the CP complies
Duke 13 (Steven B. – Professor of Law, Yale Law School, “The Future of Marijuana in the United
States”, 2013,
91 Or. L. Rev. 1301, lexis)
B. Legalizing Marijuana Is Prohibited by International Treaties "Decriminalization" is the
mechanism
AND
legalization with regulation would also suffice, leaving only laissez-faire prohibited.
Violating these drug treaties spills over and collapses the treaty system
Bewley-Taylor 3 (David R. – Senior Lecturer, Department of American Studies, University of
Wales Swansea, “Challenging the UN drug control conventions: problems and possibilities”,
International Journal of Drug Policy,
http://www.unawestminster.org.uk/pdf/drugs/UNdrugsBewley_Taylor_IJDP14.pdf)
Disregarding the treaties
Another strategy would be for Parties to simply ignore the treaties or certain parts of
AND
a principle would call into question the validity of many and varied conventions.
Effective treaty compliance is critical to preventing great power war
Muller 00 (Dr. Harold Muller is the Director of the Peace Research Institute-Frankfurt and
Professor of International Relations at Goethe University Compliance Politics: A Critical Analysis
of Multilateral Arms Control Treaty Enforcement http://cns.miis.edu/npr/pdfs/72muell.pdf)
In this author's view,3 at least four distinct missions continue to make arms control,
disarmament, and non-proliferation agreements useful, even indispensable parts of a stable and
reliable world security structure:
• As long as the risk of great power rivalry and competition exists—and
AND
are made empty shells by repeated breaches and a lack of effective enforcement.
Drug Trafficking
Cartels are diverse – Doing one thing doesn’t spill over
French 5 [Taylor W. French, JD candidate, Vanderbilt; “NOTE: Free Trade and Illegal Drugs: Will
NAFTA Transform the United States Into the Netherlands?”; Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law¶
March, 2005 38 Vand. J. Transnat'l L. 501; Lexis]
In the post-NAFTA era, it has become harder for authorities to detect
AND
businesses to supply the United States with illicit substances of all kinds. n283
Cartel-led violence is decreasing now - Mexican security efforts are
increasingly successful
Higa 14 (Daniel, "Mexico: Homicides decrease, but kidnapping, extortion rising,"
http://infosurhoy.com/en_GB/articles/saii/features/main/2014/06/02/feature-01)
MEXICO CITY – Thanks to the intervention of federal forces, the arrest of major
AND
states such as Michoacán, Nuevo León, Chihuahua, Nayarit and Guerrero.”
Marijuana doesn’t stop cartels – they’ll shift
Bender 13 [Steven Bender, Professor, Seattle University School of Law; “Overdose: The Failure of the
U.S. Drug War and Attempts at Legalization: ARTICLE: JOINT REFORM?: THE INTERPLAY OF
STATE, FEDERAL, AND HEMISPHERIC REGULATION OF RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA AND
THE FAILED WAR ON DRUGS”; 2013¶ Albany Government Law Review¶ 6 Alb. Gov't L. Rev. 359;
Lexis]
Gauging the effect of U.S. legalization requires some sense of the economic
AND
revenues, and the surging violence within Mexico, is hard to predict.
Mexico stability high now – no risk of state collapse
Paredes 14 (Martin, Columnist @ El Paso News, "George Friedman: Mexico is not a failed
state," 2/28, http://elpasonews.org/2014/02/george-friedman-mexico-failed-state/)
The World Bank ranks Mexico’s economy as the second largest economy south of the Rio
AND
is a country that the US should be proud to call a friend.
Lots of factors prevent great power conflict without hegemony
Fettweis 10 (Christopher J. Professor of Political Science at Tulane, Dangerous Times-The
International Politics of Great Power Peace, pg. 175-6)
If the only thing standing between the world and chaos is the US military presence
AND
typically unidirectional. Strategic restraint in such a world be virtually risk free.
Heg is unsustainable – rising powers, overstretch and loss of economic power
Layne 11 [Christopher Layne is the Associate Professor in the Bush School of Government and
Public Service at Texas A&M University and Research Fellow with the Center on Peace and
Liberty at The Independent Institute. “The unipolar exit: beyond the Pax Americana”, Cambridge
Review of International Affairs, 24:2, 149-164, Chetan]
In this article I challenge Brooks and Wohlforth. I show that the unipolar era
AND
dramatic changes in international politics—the outlines of which already are visible.
Statisically unipolarity is the most conflict prone system
Montiero 12 [Nuno P. Monteiro is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Yale University,
“Unrest Assured: Why Unipolarity is Not Peaceful”, International Security, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Winter
2011/12), pp. 9–40, Chetan]
Wohlforth claims not only that the unipole can stave off challenges and preclude major power
AND
causes of conflict beyond interactions between the most important states in the system.
Investment
Farm subsidies kill small farms
Reidl 7 [Brian M. Riedl is a senior fellow in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy
Studies at the Heritage Foundation; “How Farm Subsidies Harm Taxpayers, Consumers, and
Farmers, Too”; 6/20/2007; http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2007/06/how-farmsubsidies-harm-taxpayers-consumers-and-farmers-too]
The Overall Impact of Farm Policy¶ Although farm policies serve no legitimate purpose,
AND
food supply. In reality, they are America's largest corporate welfare program.
Farming is impossible- laundry list
Zuckerman 13 [Seth Zuckerman, That Nation; “Is Pot-Growing Bad for the Environment?”;
10/31/2013; http://www.thenation.com/article/176955/pot-growing-bad-environment?page=0,1]
To understand how raising some dried flowers—the prized part of the cannabis plant
AND
creeks Bauer’s team studied are representative of the situation across the region. ¶
Pot legalization MAGNIFIES the risk of pesticide contamination –
regulations insufficient
Huff Post 13 ("Marijuana Pesticide Contamination Becomes Health Concern As Legalization
Spreads," http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/24/marijuana-pesticidescontamination_n_3328122.html)
But experts warn that unwelcome chemicals, including pesticides, may be tagging along with
AND
place indoors -- and others that may eat, drink or breathe downwind.
Food shortage doesn’t cause war – best studies
Allouche 11, research Fellow – water supply and sanitation @ Institute for Development
Studies, frmr professor – MIT, ’11 (Jeremy, “The sustainability and resilience of global water and
food systems: Political analysis of the interplay between security, resource scarcity, political
systems and global trade,” Food Policy, Vol. 36 Supplement 1, p. S3-S8, January)
The question of resource scarcity has led to many debates on whether scarcity (whether
AND
( [Barnett and Adger, 2007] and Kevane and Gray, 2008
Status quo solves Zoonotic Diseases – policies are in place
Institute of Medicine (US) Forum on Microbial Threats 11 (This project was
AND
Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine)
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and neglected zoonotic diseases (NZDs) not only
AND
control, and in some cases eradicate, these neglected diseases of poverty.
Disease extinction empirically denied- diversity means survivors
No extinction – diseases favor limited lethality and medicine will check
Posner 4 (Richard, Judge – US Court of Appeals, Catastrophe: Risk and Response, p. 22-24)
Yet the fact that Homo sapiens has managed to survive every disease to assail it
AND
lesson of the AIDS pandemic. And there is always a lust time.
Only a risk they make the law MORE confusing - The United States should
legalize Cannabis sativa L, but not the mature stalks of such plant, fiber
produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant , any other
compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such
mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the
sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination.
Hemp is already legal and solves the advantage
MarketWatch 14 [Global news wire; “Victory for Hemp Farmers as U.S. House of
Representatives Legalizes the Cultivation of Hemp”; 2/3/2014;
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/victory-for-hemp-farmers-as-us-house-of-representativeslegalizes-the-cultivation-of-hemp-2014-02-03]
LAS VEGAS, Feb 03, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE via COMTEX) -- Hemp
AND
S., the country is one of the fastest-growing hemp markets.
No spillover- not pracitical for other ag
Bio-D doesn’t matter
Sagoff 97 [Mark, Senior Research Scholar @ Institute for Philosophy and Public policy in
School of Public Affairs @ U. Maryland, William and Mary Law Review, “INSTITUTE OF BILL OF
RIGHTS LAW SYMPOSIUM DEFINING TAKINGS: PRIVATE PROPERTY AND THE FUTURE OF
GOVERNMENT REGULATION: MUDDLE OR MUDDLE THROUGH? TAKINGS JURISPRUDENCE
MEETS THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT”, 38 Wm and Mary L. Rev. 825, March, L/N]
Although one may agree with ecologists such as Ehrlich and Raven that the earth stands
AND
sense, good for mankind. The most valuable things are quite useless.
No impact to oil wars - Market adaptation
Gholz & Press 10 - Professor of public affairs @ University of Texas & Professor of government @ Dartmouth [Eugene
Gholz & Daryl G. Press, “Protecting “The Prize”: Oil and the U.S. National Interest,” Security Studies, 19:453–485, 2010
The evidence from these oil disruption cases generally confirms our expectations of market
adaptation.
AND
of several years of cheap oil. Pg. 471-473 //1nc
No peak oil --- new investment and production will pick up, AND the shift to
renewables solves
Emmott 8/20/09 – former Editor of The Economist, 1993-2006, author of 10 books, honorary
fellow of Magadalen College at Oxford University
(Bill. “Opec’s greed will herald the end of the oil age.” The Times Online.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6802501.ece)
Proclamations of economic recovery in the past week in Japan, France and Germany,
AND
in earnest a century ago in America, will be at an end.
No South China Sea conflict – countries will work together
Gupta 11 [Rukmani Gupta is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and
Analyses, “South China Sea Conflict? No Way”, October 23rd, 2011, http://thediplomat.com/2011/10/23/south-china-sea-conflict-no-way/1/, Chetan]
These suggestions to recalibrate Indian policy towards the South China Sea and its relationship
with
AND
pipelines.’ The prospect of threats to SLOCS thus seems somewhat exaggerated.
2NC
Drug:
Legalization won’t destroy the cartels – they sell other illegal drugs, they could
enter the legal weed market, and they have non-drug sources of income like oil
theft
Longmire 11 (Sylvia, a former officer and investigative special agent in the Air Force, is the
author of the forthcoming book “Cartel: The Coming Invasion of Mexico’s Drug Wars,"
"Legalization Won't Kill the Cartels,"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/opinion/19longmire.html?_r=0)
Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Marijuana legalization has many merits, but it
AND
What it won’t do, though, is stop the violence in Mexico.
HEG:
First, rise of new powers is shifting the system towards multipolarity – this
hamstrings hegemony since we can’t exercise power unilaterally
More evidence - China is making the world multipolar
Layne 12 [Christopher Layne is the Associate Professor in the Bush School of Government and
Public Service at Texas A&M University and Research Fellow with the Center on Peace and
Liberty at The Independent Institute, “This Time It’s Real: The End of Unipolarity and the Pax
Americana”, International Studies Quarterly (2012) 56, 203–213, Chetan]
American decline is part of a broader trend in international politics: the shift of
AND
to acquire the power projection capabilities to defend those interests (Zakaria 1998).
Second – Overstretch makes it impossible for the US to maintain its security
commitments – withering alliances and credibility
More evidence – the overstretch military can’t handle multiple future hotspots
Layne 11 [Christopher Layne is the Associate Professor in the Bush School of Government and
Public Service at Texas A&M University and Research Fellow with the Center on Peace and
Liberty at The Independent Institute. “The unipolar exit: beyond the Pax Americana”, Cambridge
Review of International Affairs, 24:2, 149-164 – June2011, Chetan]
Today, the United States is saddled with the responsibility for maintaining stability in Europe
AND
reality which the United States likely will confront in the next two decades.
Trends go our way – even if we are the leader in the short term, our economic
power will wane in the long term
Thompson, 08 – Chief Operating Officer of the Lexington Institute (Loren, “America’s economic decline”, Armed Forces
Journal, 2008, http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2009/03/3922551/, CH)
In other words, America’s economy is in decline. The problem isn’t just a
AND
too saw China as a rising power poised to capitalize on America’s decline.
Hegemony causes economic collapse – current economic crisis proves
Eland 9 (Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on peace and Liberty at the Independent Institute, Director of Defense Policy Studies at the
Cato Institute, B.A. Iowa State University, M.B.A. in Economics and Ph.D. in Public Policy from George Washington University, (Ivan, The Independent
Institute, “How the U.S. Empire Contributed to the Economic Crisis”, May 11th, http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2498)
A few—and only a few—prescient commentators have questioned whether the U
AND
it is partly responsible for the economic distress that is making us poorer.
Heg forces other nations to acquire nukes
Maddock 10 (Shane J, PhD from the University of Connecticut in US history and teacher at
Stonehill College, author of multiple books concerning American Foreign Relations, “Nuclear
Apartheid”, The+ University of North Carolina Press, Print)
Throughout the nuclear age, the United States has squandered opportunities to forge
cooperative ventures
AND
and in the process diminished Washington’s and Moscow’s power in the international system.
US hegemony will guarantee US-Sino conflict with flashpoints across Asia
Layne 12 [Christopher Layne is the Associate Professor in the Bush School of Government and
Public Service at Texas A&M University and Research Fellow with the Center on Peace and
Liberty at The Independent Institute, “The Global Power Shift from West to East”, April 25th,
2012, http://nationalinterest.org/article/the-global-power-shift-west-east-6796, Chetan]
Certainly, the Chinese have not forgotten. Now Beijing aims to dominate its own
AND
other natural resources; and the burgeoning naval rivalry between the two powers.
Investment:
Food shortage doesn’t cause war – best studies
Allouche 11, research Fellow – water supply and sanitation @ Institute for Development
Studies, frmr professor – MIT, ’11 (Jeremy, “The sustainability and resilience of global water and
food systems: Political analysis of the interplay between security, resource scarcity, political
systems and global trade,” Food Policy, Vol. 36 Supplement 1, p. S3-S8, January)
The question of resource scarcity has led to many debates on whether scarcity (whether
AND
( [Barnett and Adger, 2007] and Kevane and Gray, 2008
Status quo solves Zoonotic Diseases – policies are in place
Institute of Medicine (US) Forum on Microbial Threats 11 (This project was
AND
Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine)
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and neglected zoonotic diseases (NZDs) not only
AND
control, and in some cases eradicate, these neglected diseases of poverty.
No extinction – diseases favor limited lethality and medicine will check
Posner 4 (Richard, Judge – US Court of Appeals, Catastrophe: Risk and Response, p. 22-24)
Yet the fact that Homo sapiens has managed to survive every disease to assail it
AND
lesson of the AIDS pandemic. And there is always a lust time.
Bio-D doesn’t matter
Sagoff 97 [Mark, Senior Research Scholar @ Institute for Philosophy and Public policy in
School of Public Affairs @ U. Maryland, William and Mary Law Review, “INSTITUTE OF BILL OF
RIGHTS LAW SYMPOSIUM DEFINING TAKINGS: PRIVATE PROPERTY AND THE FUTURE OF
GOVERNMENT REGULATION: MUDDLE OR MUDDLE THROUGH? TAKINGS JURISPRUDENCE
MEETS THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT”, 38 Wm and Mary L. Rev. 825, March, L/N]
Although one may agree with ecologists such as Ehrlich and Raven that the earth stands
AND
sense, good for mankind. The most valuable things are quite useless.
No impact to oil wars - Market adaptation
Gholz & Press 10 - Professor of public affairs @ University of Texas & Professor of government @ Dartmouth [Eugene
Gholz & Daryl G. Press, “Protecting “The Prize”: Oil and the U.S. National Interest,” Security Studies, 19:453–485, 2010
The evidence from these oil disruption cases generally confirms our expectations of market
adaptation.
AND
of several years of cheap oil. Pg. 471-473 //1nc
No peak oil --- new investment and production will pick up, AND the shift to
renewables solves
Emmott 8/20/09 – former Editor of The Economist, 1993-2006, author of 10 books, honorary
fellow of Magadalen College at Oxford University
(Bill. “Opec’s greed will herald the end of the oil age.” The Times Online.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6802501.ece)
Proclamations of economic recovery in the past week in Japan, France and Germany,
AND
in earnest a century ago in America, will be at an end.
No South China Sea conflict – countries will work together
Gupta 11 [Rukmani Gupta is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and
Analyses, “South China Sea Conflict? No Way”, October 23rd, 2011, http://thediplomat.com/2011/10/23/south-china-sea-conflict-no-way/1/, Chetan]
These suggestions to recalibrate Indian policy towards the South China Sea and its relationship
with
AND
pipelines.’ The prospect of threats to SLOCS thus seems somewhat exaggerated.
CP:
Legalize means tax and regulate – decriminalization means removing criminal
penalties
Kreit 10 (Alex, Associate Professor and Director, Center for Law and Social Justice, Thomas
Jefferson School of Law, "Article: The Decriminalization Option: Should States Consider Moving
from a Criminal to a Civil Drug Court Model?," 2010 U Chi Legal F 299, lexis)
Despite all of the debate about drug decriminalization in policy and legal circles, the
AND
system in which a substance is taxed and regulated like alcohol or tobacco.
Legalize means allowing and regulating an activity
Laker 3 (Kurt, J.D. candidate, Indiana University School of Law- Indianapolis, "SMOKE AND
MIRRORS: THE SELF-EXAMINATION OF CANADIAN MARIJUANA POLICY IN THE CONTEXT OF
DECRIMINALIZATION IN THE NETHERLANDS," 14 Ind. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 341, lexis)
n63 See id. at 276-77. The Cannabis Report contains a glossary
AND
and tobacco. See Cannabis Report, supra note 5, at xiv.
Distinct from legalize…
Schmoke 90 (Kurt, Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland; B.A. History, Yale University, 1971; Rhodes
Scholar, 1971-73; J.D. Harvard Law School, 1976, "A SYMPOSIUM ON DRUG
DECRIMINALIZATION: AN ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF DECRIMINALIZATION," 18 Hofstra L. Rev.
501, lexis)
n25 It is important to note that this Article proposes a system for "decriminalization
AND
Aug. 4, 1988) (on file at Hofstra Law Review).
Diminishes drug cartel strength
Vogt-Erickson 14 (Jennifer, “Decriminalizing marijuana good for society”, 1/14,
http://www.albertleatribune.com/2014/01/decriminalizing-marijuana-good-for-society/)
It’s also unhealthy for government when generally law-abiding people openly break laws;
AND
smuggling marijuana. Decriminalizing marijuana will likely diminish the power of the cartels.
Even the plan causes black market development – regulation ensures it
Moran 11 (Thomas – J.D. – Washington and Lee University School of Law, “Just a Little Bit of
History Repeating: The California Model of Marijuana Legalization and How it Might Affect Racial
and Ethnic Minorities”, 2011,
17 Wash. & Lee J. Civil Rts. & Soc. Just. 557, lexis)
B. What About Potency Regulation ? As shown, legalization of marijuana will almost
AND
legalization does not simply spawn new, competing black market drug operations. n134
Decriminalization avoids intense political backlash
Lindeen 10 (Lance – Executive Articles Editor, Indiana Law Journal, “Keep Off the Grass!: An
Alternative Approach to the Gun Control Debate”, 2010, 85 Ind. L.J. 1659, lexis)
As to specific drugs and policies, this recommendation offers a first step: select
AND
social and political backlash, particularly to the negative externalities of drug use.
Perm Do CP – Marihuana – 2NC
Perm is severance –
Legalization means tax and regulate – decriminalization means removing
criminal penalties
Kreit 10 (Alex, Associate Professor and Director, Center for Law and Social Justice,
Thomas Jefferson School of Law, "Article: The Decriminalization Option: Should States
Consider Moving from a Criminal to a Civil Drug Court Model?," 2010 U Chi Legal F
299, lexis)
Despite all of the debate about drug decriminalization in policy and legal circles, the
AND
system in which a substance is taxed and regulated like alcohol or tobacco.
True for Marihuana – we have comparative ev
Blumer 13 (Emma, JD Candidate @ NYU, "COMMENTS: Beinor v. Industrial Claims
Appeals Office," 57 N.Y.L. Sch. L. Rev. 205, lexis)
Subsection (4)(a) of the Medical Marijuana Amendment reads, "A patient may engage in the medical use of marijuana, with no more
marijuana than is medically necessary to address a debilitating medical condition. A patient's medical use of marijuana, within the
following limits, is lawful," n98 which means "legal." n99 The courts have recognized a difference between
decriminalization and legalization. n100 Decriminalization involves the removal of criminal
penalties and therefore the removal of the threat of incarceration and loss of freedom. n101 For
example, when Connecticut decriminalized the possession of marijuana under one-half ounce, it did not thereby create a right to
possess marijuana, but rather made such possession a criminal infraction and not a criminal act. n102
In contrast,
legalization means the government has the ability to regulate use and distribution . n103
Colorado made it "lawful" to use marijuana for medical purposes, and thus created a right to use medical marijuana within the
prescribed conditions. Thus, the question is whether "lawful" indicates that the Amendment arguably did more than remove a criminal
[*218] prohibition and created a right to use medical marijuana under the conditions specified. At the very least the Amendment was
ambiguous in this regard. The Colorado Court of Appeals was bound to construe the Amendment by giving meaning to every word it
contained, using the ordinary meaning of the Amendment's words. n104 The word "lawful" means "legal"; therefore the result
of making something lawful (when it previously was not) is to legalize, something materially
different than a mere exemption from criminal prosecution . n105 Legalization typically means
that civil and other penalties cannot be imposed for engaging in a given behavior. n106 The majority noted that it
was not empowered to "add or subtract language from the express words of the amendment." n107 Yet, by construing the word
"lawful" to mean decriminalize rather than anything other than "legal," the court changed the apparent meaning of the Amendment,
thereby allowing it to find that no ambiguity existed and to avoid looking at extrinsic evidence that would have clarified what the
voters intended in approving the initiative. n108 n99 See BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 965 (9th ed. 2009) (defining lawful as
"[n]ot contrary to law; permitted bylaw. See LEGAL"); see also ERICH GOODE, BETWEEN POLITICS AND REASON: THE
DRUG LEGALIZATION DEBATE, 78 (1997) ("Legalization
refers to a state licensing system more or less
similar to that which prevails for alcohol and tobacco."). n100 See SAM KAMIN 8C CHRISTOPHER S.
MORRIS, THE IMPACT OF THE DECRIMINALIZATION AND LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA: AN IMMEDIATE LOOK
AT THE CANNABIS REFORM MOVEMENT, 2010 ASPATORE SPECIAL REP. 22 (2010) (explaining the difference between
legalization and decriminalization). Cf. People v. Trippet, 66 Cal. Rptr. 2d 559, 568 8c n.8 (Cal. Ct. App. 1997) (explaining that
California's Proposition 215, which merely decriminalized the use of medical marijuana, did not change its use from a crime to a
"right"). n101 Decriminalize Definition, MERRIAM-WEBSTER.COM, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decriminalize
(last visited Aug. 21, 2012). n102 See CONN. GEN. STAT. ANN. § 21A-279(c) (West 2012). n103 See Cynthia S. Duncan, The
Need for Change: An Economic Analysis of Marijuana Policy, 41 CONN. L. REV. 1701, 1731 (2009) ("Having failed to effectively
exert control over marijuana availability and marijuana use from the outside through prohibition, legalization exerts control
from the inside-replacing government prohibition of marijuana with government regulation."). n104 See Wash.
Cnty. Bd. of Equalization v. Petron Dev. Co., 109 P.3d 146, 149 (Colo. 2005) ("We construe [constitutional and statutory] provisions
as a whole, giving effect to every word and term contained therein, whenever possible."). n105 See also Jordan Blair Woods, A
Decade After Drug Decriminalization: What Can the United States Learn from the Portuguese Model, 15 UDC/DCSL L. REV. 1, 6-14
(2011) ("There are three main legal approaches to drug use, each of which has benefits and drawbacks. At one end of the spectrum is
criminalization. ... At the other end of the spectrum is legalization."). n106 Id. at 6 ("In a legalized regime, people are
legally permitted to use drugs under regulated conditions without the threat of criminal, civil, or
administrative sanctions. In between these two options is decriminalization. In a decriminalized regime, drug
use is not a criminal offense, but may remain subject to non-criminal sanctions (such as
administrative sanctions)."). n107 Beinor v. Indus. Claim Appeals Office, 262 P.3d 970, 975 (Colo. App. 2011) (citing
Turbyne v. People, 151 P.3d 563, 567 (Colo. 2007)). n108 However, the clear meaning of "legal" does not demonstrate that the text of
the Medical Marijuana Amendment as a whole is unambiguous. Subsection (2) creates an exemption from criminal prosecution and,
as I argue, subsection (4)(a) legalizes medical use. It is difficult to conjure up a scenario where legalization would not automatically
decriminalize and thus the two provisions are inconsistent. This internal conflict, between the competing subsections, begets sufficient
ambiguity in the text that the court should have examined extrinsic evidence (i.e., the Bluebook) to ascertain what voters intended the
amendment to mean.
Severance is a voter – makes the aff a moving target and makes it impossible
for the neg to have stable ground because of shifting, late-breaking debates
They destroy legal precision about mechanisms that’s key to topic education
and the ability to test “legalization”
Textual Competition Bad
-- Absurdity –
A) They allow stupid scramble perms and eliminate obviously competitive
options like “ban the plan”
B) Plan-plus competes – the “ban nuclear weapons” Aff couldn’t permute the
“ban weapons” counterplan
C) Outweighs – debate becomes stupid and detached from logic. Biggest
impact because nothing will translate outside of debate
-- No reason its good:
A) Functional competition checks – it eliminates dumb counterplans
B) Bad counterplans can be beaten on theory – consult, condition, etc. are
obviously bad will lose to good teams – a stupid competition scheme isn’t
necessary to stop them
-- No impact to objectivity – subjective decisions are inevitable, and judges
are supposed to make hard choices
Solvency – Drug Trade/Black Market
Decriminalization is sufficient to solve the black market and eliminate illegal
profit
Duke 9 (Stephen – Professor of Law, Yale Law School, “Drugs: To Legalize or Not”,
4/25, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB124061360462654683)
Marijuana presents the strongest case for this approach. According to some estimates,
marijuana
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would eliminate much of the profit that fuels the internecine warfare in Mexico.
Diminishes drug cartel strength
Vogt-Erickson 14 (Jennifer, “Decriminalizing marijuana good for society”, 1/14,
http://www.albertleatribune.com/2014/01/decriminalizing-marijuana-good-for-society/)
It’s also unhealthy for government when generally law-abiding people openly break laws;
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smuggling marijuana. Decriminalizing marijuana will likely diminish the power of the cartels.
Solvency – Increased Consumption
Decriminalization spurs increased consumption
Lindeen 10 (Lance – Executive Articles Editor, Indiana Law Journal, “Keep Off the
Grass!: An Alternative Approach to the Gun Control Debate”, 2010, 85 Ind. L.J. 1659,
lexis)
In the case of marijuana, there is evidence to support a brief discussion of
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increase overall consumption trends) solely because the drug has been decriminalized. n24
Portugal proves
Yablon 11 (Daniel – Department of Economics, UC Berkeley, “The Effect of Drug
Decriminalization in Portugal on
Homicide and Drug Mortality Rates”, 2011,
https://www.econ.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/yablon_daniel.pdf)
Even if decriminalization in Portugal caused the observed increases in homicide and drug
mortality rates
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nature of the illicit market, or difficulties of law enforcement agencies in adj
usting to the change, co uld also account for a short - term increase in the homicide rate
1NR
DA outweighs and turns the case-
Impact outweighs –
Israeli strikes are the only way to simultaneously trigger economic collapse,
international backlash, and nuclear standoff—even if they have defense, crisis
synergy overwhelms normal conflict resolution and leads to World War 3 –
that’s Reuveny. It also says that the US response independently leads to
miscalc due to high alert – draws in all major powers and escalates
Also faster – talks are on the brink now and our link is based on Israel’s
response to diplomatic progress – none of their impacts are perception based
Turns case – sets a precedent to delegate authority – draws us into war
Richman, 12/29/13 (Sheldon, Counterpunch, “AIPAC's Stranglehold Congress Must Not Cede
Its War Power to Israel”, http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/12/27/congress-must-not-cede-itswar-power-to-israel/)
The American people should know that pending right now in Congress is a bipartisan bill
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bending over backward to demonstrate that its nuclear program has no military aims.
Deal failure itself causes global war
PressTV 11/13/13 (“Global nuclear conflict between US, Russia, China likely if Iran talks fail,”
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/11/13/334544/global-nuclear-war-likely-if-iran-talks-fail/)
A global conflict between the US, Russia, and China is likely in the
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sanctions against Tehran because failure in talks with Iran could lead to war.
Pre-existing alliances and relations will draw in other powers
White, July/August 2011 (Jeffrey – defense fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East
Policy, What Would War With Iran Look Like, National Interest, p. http://www.the-americaninterest.com/article-bd.cfm?piece=982)
A U.S.-Iranian war would probably not be fought by the United
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beyond, complicating both U.S. military operations and coalition diplomacy.
they can’t solve for iran via heg when we literally give the green light to Israel- its fundamentally
different than their Kroenig evidence which talks about how Israel is needed to keep the peace
Uniqueness debate1) Killian – from 9/16 – dems will win a 50 seat majority dems will hold their seats in Iowa,
Northcarolina, and get Kansas- it sites Wang who uses a meta analysis and statistics not
just one poll
2) Their ev is terrible –it cites a Washington Post/ABC poll- in APRIL that said the GOP has a
decent shot- doesn’t assume our specific state by state analysis – don’t buy 1ar
sandbagging stick them to these warrants– our block strat is based on 2ac
3) Dems will win now- more ev
Wash Post Election Lab isn't reliable - even they acknowledge they could be
wrong
Adams 14 (T Becket, Washington Examiner, "Washington Post: So our election model is pretty
accurate and it predicts the GOP takes the Senate --- but what the hell do we know?,"
http://washingtonexaminer.com/washington-post-so-our-election-model-is-pretty-accurateand-it-predicts-the-gop-takes-the-senate-but-what-the-hell-do-we-know/article/2550880)
The Washington Post covers the nation's most important elections with the help of Election Lab
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gains, but it could also be wrong. Who can really know?
Dems will keep the Senate – PEC says so
PEC 9/18/14 (Princeton Election Consortium, "Today’s Senate seat-count histogram
*snapshot*," http://election.princeton.edu/todays-senate-seat-count-histogram/)
Princeton Election Consortium A first draft of electoral history. Since 2004 Senate, September
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Eve its center should be close to or at the final election outcome.
Prefer PEC – its polling-only model is MORE accurate than the indirect
fundamentals-based measures by 538 and others
Drum 14 (Kevin, Political Commentator @ Mother Jones, 8/29, "Will Democrats Keep Control
of the Senate This Year?," http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/08/will-democratskeep-control-senate-year)
Sam Wang of the Princeton Election Consortium thinks that Democrats currently have a 72
percent
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Tester) and North Dakota (Heidi Heitkamp), which FiveThirtyEight got wrong.
Orman will win in Kansas – that ensures Dems keep the Senate
Easley 9/18/14 (Jason, Columnist @ PoliticsUSA, "Republican Hopes Of Winning The Senate
Take a Big Hit In Kansas," http://www.politicususa.com/2014/09/18/republicans-hopeswinning-senate-big-hit-democrats-ordered-kansas-ballot.html)
Republican hopes of winning the Senate were dealt a major setback when the Kansas Supreme
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Day, Democrats might pull off the unexpected and maintain their Senate majority.
The link – it’s a pol loser for OBAMA - there’s a reason he’s left it up to states because it won’t
work It’s a bad political problem- that’s Abdullah 14
Legalization of weed is political suicide – esp. in the midst of political campaigns
Chapman 8 (Steve, columnist and editorial writer for the Chicago Tribune, "Barack Obama on
Weed,"
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JPJNIyXvUGMJ:reason.com/archives/
2008/02/04/barack-obama-on-weed+&cd=14&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us)
On Thursday, The Washington Times reported that in 2004, as a candidate for
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button-downed candidate who proposes to change those laws has no hope.
Legalization is political suicide – overwhelming public opposition and big
Obama flip-flop
Keating 9 (Joshua, Columnist @ Foreign Policy, "Is Obama winding down the war on drugs?"
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4u4ORKxsd8J:blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/10/19/is_obama_winding_down_the_war_on_drugs+&c
d=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us)
In a column last May, FP Editor in Chief Moisés Naím called the United
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perfectly content to sit back and let the zeitgeist shift on its own.
Pot legalization doesn’t boost turnout or help Dems – statistical evidence
proves
Enten 5/1/14 (Harry, enior political writer and analyst for FiveThirtyEight, "Sorry Democrats,
Marijuana Doesn't Bring Young Voterse to the Polls," http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/sorrydemocrats-marijuana-doesnt-bring-young-voters-to-the-polls/)
Some Democrats think they’ve found a great smoky hope in state ballot measures seeking to
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voters, but it suggests that the overall effect was small and fairly neutral
Obama's approval ratings aren't that low – post ISIS speech proves
Mitchell 9/12/14 (Anthea, Feature Political Writer @ Wall Street Cheat Sheet, "Are
Americans Wrong to Trust Republicans More on Terrorism?,"
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/are-americans-wrong-to-trust-republicans-more-onterrorism.html/?a=viewall)
President Barack Obama on Thursday outlined his strategy against the extremist militant group
ISIL,
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in digs at Obama that may have further decreased confidence in his capabilities.
GOP-led Senate undercuts Obama-led environmental efforts, including tackling
climate change
Harder 13 (Amy, Environmental Correspondent @ National Journal, "Care About Energy and
Environment Policy? Watch These Eight Races,"
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CM3Nm1CJ4wJ:www.nationaljournal.com/energy/care-about-energy-and-environment-policy-watch-theseeight-races-20131231+&cd=27&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us)
For environmentalists, the 2014 midterm elections are about settling for the lesser of two evils.
Several conservative Democrats up for reelection in red states are facing tough competition, and
if enough of these members lose, the Senate could flip to Republican control. That would be
the worst outcome for environmentalists , who need a Democrat-controlled Senate to defend
against efforts to undo President Obama's climate-change agenda and other tough
environmental policies.
Obama’s climate agenda spurs global action – solves warming
Martinson 14 (Erica, Regulatory reporter @ Politico, "Obama's agenda: EPA leading the
charge on climate change," http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=3BE87317-0921-4B01A3B5-C39AEF6CDDC3)
President Barack Obama’s environmental regulators will spend the rest of this year writing
climate rules
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and the single largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution.
Warming is real, human caused, and causes extinction—acting now key
Mccoy 14 (Dr. David McCoy et al., MD, Centre for International Health and Development,
University College London, “Climate Change and Human Survival,” BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL v.
348, 4—2—14, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g2510)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just published its report on
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. . The laws of physics are non-negotiable.” [6]
Warming causes disease outbreaks
EHP 7 (Environmental Health Perspectives, “Driven to Extremes: Health Effects of Climate
Change”, 115(4), April, Jstor)
In many regions, it is already raining less often but harder. According to
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of mosquito populations, creating outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases in humans.
Warming turns ag production and causes food shocks
Cevik 7 (Serhan, Vice President and Economist – Morgan Stanley, “Warming Up”, Morgan
Stanley, 1-26, http://www.morganstanley.com/views/gef/archive/2007/20070126-Fri.html)
Global warming has already resulted in more extreme weather conditions. The global surface
temperature
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net food-importing countries in the region that heavily subsidize food prices.
Warming collapses global agriculture
Strom 7 (Robert, Professor Emeritus of Planetary Sciences – University of Arizona, Hot House, p.
211-216)
According to the study, as the average global temperature anomaly rises to 1 °
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starvation, and political and economic chaos with all their ramifications for civilization.
Warming causes Central Asian conflict
Epiney 7 (Dr. Astrid, Professor of International Law, European Law, and Swiss Public Law and
Director of the Institute for European Law – Université de Fribourg, “Climate Changes as a
Security Risk”, May, http://www.wbgu .de/wbgu_jg2007_engl.pdf)
Economic structures depend to a large extent on natural resources. In addition, these
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applies not only to the valley itself, but to the entire region.