( CNN ) -- The residents of Colorado and Washington state have voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana , and all hell is about to break loose -- at least ideologically . The problem is that pot is still very much illegal under federal law , and the Obama administration must decide whether to enforce federal law in a state that has rejected the substance of that law . What makes this development fascinating is that it brings into conflict two important strains of political thought in America : federalism and moralism . Federalists , who seek to limit the power of the federal government relative to the states and individuals , will urge a hands-off approach . Moralists , on the other hand , strongly believe in the maintenance of an established social order and will argue for continuing enforcement of federal narcotics laws . The new laws will pit those who want a small federal government that leaves businesses and individuals alone against those who want the government to actively enforce a traditional sense of public morality in areas such as narcotics , abortion and limitations on gay marriage . One aspect of this conundrum is the near-total overlap between federal and state narcotics laws . Simple possession of marijuana is made into a federal criminal case under 21 U.S.C . Section 844 , and federal law oddly categorizes marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic , along with heroin and mescaline -- even as cocaine and opium remain on the less-serious Schedule II . While federal law typically wo n't provide jurisdiction over a street robbery or even a murder , it does allow federal courts to imprison someone for carrying a small bag of marijuana , even when state law says otherwise . Opinion : The end of the war on marijuana . Federal and state efforts to curb marijuana use through prosecution simply have n't worked . In 2010 , four out of five of the 1.64 million people arrested for drug violations were accused of possession , and half of those arrests were for carrying what were often very small amounts of marijuana . Those hundreds of thousands of drug cases corresponded with an increase in marijuana use . If federal policy were about problem-solving , Colorado would not pose a dilemma , because prosecuting marijuana cases has n't solved the problem of marijuana use . Federal drug policy , though , is very much driven by moralism rather than problem-solving . After all , we have spent billions of dollars -- about $ 20 billion to $ 25 billion a year during the past decade -- and incarcerated tens of thousands of people to punish drug possession and trafficking without ever successfully restricting the flow of marijuana or cocaine . If we think tough drug laws solve the problem of drug use , we are deluding ourselves . Rather , what sustains the effort is the bedrock belief that drugs are bad , and we must punish those who sell them or use them . Mass incarceration is justified by the belief that those we lock up simply deserve it . That sense of retributive morality does not stop at state borders . Federalism , though , demands that individual and state rights be honored above all but the most important federal imperatives . Should marijuana be legal ? Readers debate pot laws . We are not a unitary state like many European nations , and part of the genius of the American experience is the delicate balance between federal and state powers desired by those wise men who crafted the mechanics of our government . The difference between federalism and the kind of moralism driving national narcotics policy is simply this : Federalism is a central principle built into the structure of our government through the Constitution . Abhorrence of marijuana use is not such a defining principle . To be true to our best values , federalism should win out . No doubt , the moralists will consider the regulations on marijuana `` too important '' to bow to federalism concerns , but their sway is limited . Our recent elections show the moralists to be in decline , as those who fought limits on gay marriage won across the board at the same time that marijuana was legalized . As a federal prosecutor , I had the privilege of representing the United States and a role in employing the singular power of prosecutorial discretion . The Obama administration should employ that discretionary power in line with our oldest and best principles and step back from continuing marijuana prosecutions in Colorado and Washington . The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Mark Osler .
U.S. and Colorado legalized recreational use of pot but it 's illegal under federal law . Mark Osler : tens of thousands ideologies clash over whether U.S. should override new state laws . Osler : Federalists say state laws must rule ; moralists say we need national drug laws . Washington must honor states , he says ; federalism is in the Constitution , pot opposition is not .