ACT College Arlington The United States Opiate Crisis & Federal Laws Discussion

Module 3 Assignment

Federalism

Federalisminvolves the question of how government should be divided, and morespecifically, when there is a conflict who should get to decide theoutcome (National government or state or local governments). Pleasechoose an issue that is a federalism issue (e.g. legalization ofmarijuana, sanctuary cities, educational standards, etc.) and respond tothe following.

1. Explainfully the issue you’ve chosen (you can pick from the list above or comeup with your own- there are a lot). Do not simply state what issueyou’re looking at, explain the controversy to me with data (e.g. ifyou’re looking at marijuana you should include background about statesthat have passed laws legalizing it and what the response of the JusticeDepartment has been over time and what it is currently).
2. How does this issue represent a challenge to federalism (i.e. what is the federalism issue)?
3. What are the arguments of the state/local governments (why should they get to decide this issue)?
4. What are the arguments of the federal government (why should it get to decide this issue)?

CAREFUL:This assignment is about federalism, not the underlying issues theparties are disagreeing about. So if you write a paper aboutlegalization of marijuana for example, the focus of your paper should beabout who gets to decide this issue, state governments or the federalgovernment. Dealing with the pros and cons of legalization of marijuanawould be appropriate in explaining the positions of the stategovernments and the federal government but that is just one section ofthis assignment.

CAREFUL#2: Don’t let your biases influence this assignment. Both state andfederal governments generally have good arguments for why they prefer tomake decisions in a particular area. So, for example, even if you’re ahardline anti-immigration policy person, you need to explore why statesand local governments may have chosen to be sanctuary cities (what aretheir arguments for doing so (e.g. what are the costs and burdens ofcomplying with ICE?).

Youwill have to do research for this project, please be sure to cite yourresearch at the conclusion of your paper in APA format.