Thread: No federal challenge to pot legalization in two states

A.G. Holder: Federal government won't try to block Colorado and Washington laws legalizing recreational marijuana.


No federal challenge to pot legalization in two states

By CNN Staff
updated 1:33 PM EDT, Thu August 29, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Holder won't try to block pot legalization laws in Washington, Colorado
• The two states passed measures legalizing personal marijuana use last year
• Federal laws still make possession, production and sale of marijuana illegal

Washington (CNN) -- The federal government won't try to block state laws in Colorado and Washington that legalized marijuana for recreational use, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday.

While federal law still makes the possession, production and sale of marijuana a crime, Holder's announcement means the Justice Department won't file lawsuits against state laws in Colorado and Washington that allow people to possess marijuana for personal use. Growing and selling marijuana remain illegal in those states.

In addition, 18 states have either decriminalized or allowed medical marijuana in some fashion. While the state laws have allowed medical marijuana dispensaries to open, they remain illegal under federal law.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/29/politics/holder-marijuana-laws/index.html

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 29, 2013



Justice Department Announces Update to Marijuana Enforcement Policy


Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an update to its federal marijuana enforcement policy in light of recent state ballot initiatives that legalize, under state law, the possession of small amounts of marijuana and provide for the regulation of marijuana production, processing, and sale.

In a new memorandum outlining the policy, the Department makes clear that marijuana remains an illegal drug under the Controlled Substances Act and that federal prosecutors will continue to aggressively enforce this statute. To this end, the Department identifies eight ( enforcement areas that federal prosecutors should prioritize. These are the same enforcement priorities that have traditionally driven the Department’s efforts in this area.

Outside of these enforcement priorities, however, the federal government has traditionally relied on state and local authorizes to address marijuana activity through enforcement of their own narcotics laws. This guidance continues that policy.

For states such as Colorado and Washington that have enacted laws to authorize the production, distribution and possession of marijuana, the Department expects these states to establish strict regulatory schemes that protect the eight federal interests identified in the Department’s guidance. These schemes must be tough in practice, not just on paper, and include strong, state-based enforcement efforts, backed by adequate funding. Based on assurances that those states will impose an appropriately strict regulatory system, the Department has informed the governors of both states that it is deferring its right to challenge their legalization laws at this time. But if any of the stated harms do materialize—either despite a strict regulatory scheme or because of the lack of one—federal prosecutors will act aggressively to bring individual prosecutions focused on federal enforcement priorities and the Department may challenge the regulatory scheme themselves in these states.

A copy of the memorandum, sent to all United States Attorneys by Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, is available below.

Related Material:

• DAG Memo 8-29-13

13-974 Office of Public Affairs http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/August/13-opa-974.html

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f9/i-r-s-recogn...-state-286504/

More states likely to change pot rules, both sides say

The Justice Department announces it will not interfere with the enforcement of pot measures in Washington and Colorado, a step many see as opening a door.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, left, is joined by state Atty. Gen. Bob Ferguson at a news conference to discuss the federal government's decision not to interfere with marijuana laws in Washington and Colorado. (Rachel La Corte / Associated Press / August 29, 2013)

• Also
• 
• Federal government eases stance on marijuana
• 
• California marijuana opponents blast Obama administration's stand
• 
• In a Washington sports bar, patrons with pot are living the high life
• 
• Opinion: Is marijuana legalization inevitable?

By Rick RojasAugust 29, 2013, 7:32 p.m.

SEATTLE — When the Justice Department announced Thursday that it would not interfere with the enforcement of voter-approved laws that allow recreational pot use in Washington state and Colorado, leaders on both sides of the issue had the same thought: The policy will probably encourage other states to consider similar laws.

For supporters of the state laws, the policy marked a milestone that they believe will boost their efforts to legalize marijuana in other states, including Oregon, Nevada, Massachusetts and Alaska. But for those who have been fighting the legalization of marijuana, the announcement increased their concern.

"The green rush is upon us. The federal government is saying, 'We're just going to back off,'" said a disappointed Derek Franklin, president of the Washington Assn. of Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention, which had campaigned against the state law.

On the other side Alex Cooley, co-founder of Solstice, said to be the first legal cannabis-growing facility in Washington state, called the action a "very large step forward," but that he expected the controversy to continue. "It is not the end of the war on the prohibition of cannabis."

But conflict between the Colorado and Washington state laws and federal law — which still considers marijuana a Schedule I drug, along with cocaine and heroin — had been a source of tension and confusion.

Many marijuana advocates said the discord prompted some municipalities to take a wait-and-see approach to enacting zoning and other regulations to permit pot sales, not knowing what the federal ramifications would be.

"I do think it will bring some level of relief or comfort," said Rachel Gillette, the Colorado executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "You can operate without fear the [Drug Enforcement Administration] is going to come seize your property and send you to prison."

But the policy also represents something larger. "It's a loud statement from the Obama administration that their intent is to let the experiment happen," said John Davis, executive director of the Washington state-based Coalition for Cannabis Standards and Ethics.

"It's huge," he said. "The fact it mentions adult recreational use is historic."

Franklin, whose organization opposes the Washington state law, said Thursday's announcement "really opens the door for other states even wider." He said not enough has been done to regulate the risk of marijuana abuse. He cautioned against empowering the marijuana industry, which he compared to the tobacco and alcohol industries.

But Gillette said this could represent a shift from handling marijuana in punitive ways toward education and rehabilitation.

"We're finally reaching a point where we can look at alternatives to prohibition," she said. "It's become very, very clear that the war on drugs has failed and we need to look at alternative ways to deal with illicit drugs. I'm hoping this will inspire the federal government to treat drug abuse as a health issue, rather than throw [abusers] in jail and leave them there."

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-marijuana-washington-20130830,0,1551141.story