Pubdate: Thu, 08 Nov 2012
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Authors: Joel Millman and Nathan Koppel

DENVER - Now that measures legalizing some recreational marijuana
for adults use have won approval in Colorado and Washington, state
regulators and lawmakers must decide how to navigate federal
opposition as they implement voters' desires.

The measures flout federal law, under which marijuana sales and
possession remain illegal. Oregon voters Tuesday rejected a similar
pot-legalization measure.

"The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will," said
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, who opposed the measure.
"This will be a complicated process, but we intend to follow through.
That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug so
don't break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly."

Washington Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire, who opposed the
measure, said her state was "entering uncharted waters."

Following the vote, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney for Colorado,
John Walsh, issued a statement that Mr. Walsh's office was reviewing
the state's initiative, adding that there had been no change in the
Justice Department's enforcement of federal marijuana law.

The federal government's selective prosecution of state medical
marijuana laws offers a possible road map for how it will respond to
the Colorado and Washington measures, said Robert Mikos, an expert in
drug law at Vanderbilt Law School.

Prosecutors, he said, have so far tended to target larger
medical-marijuana dispensaries, particularly those next to school
zones, while giving a pass to people growing small amounts of
marijuana for personal use.

In August, Mr. Walsh sent warning letters to medical marijuana stores
that were operating next to schools, warning them to close down within
45 days or face federal enforcement.

But other than those letters, Mr. Walsh's office has taken a "fairly
hands off" approach to medical marijuana operators, said Brian
Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado, a nonprofit that
advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana.

The federal government will face practical constraints in prosecuting
the new drugs laws, Mr. Mikos said. "It'll be tough to get enough DEA
agents to go after the hundreds if not thousands of distributors
you'll have in Colorado and Washington."

The Colorado measure, which passed with 55% of the vote, will let
residents 21 years and older grow and possess up to one ounce of pot
after the governor signs it into law. The state will allow marijuana
sales at special stores starting in 2014.

Mr. Vicente estimates the law would generate some $180 million in
taxes and savings over the next three years. Advocates say savings
would arise from the state's not prosecuting and incarcerating some
people who use marijuana.

"We're absolutely committed to the responsible implementation of this
law," he said. "We want to be a model for the rest of the country on
how to do this right."

Opponents of pot decriminalization said the conflict between state and
federal laws will generate confusion. One sector stuck in the middle
is banking, said Don Childears, president of the Colorado Bankers
Association. New marijuana distributors operating legally under state
law would likely require banking services, he said, but federal laws
forbids it. "It made no sense to create this legal confrontation that
we're now facing," he said.

Washington's new pot law calls for legislators to design from scratch
a homegrown industry for cultivation, processing and retailing sales
of marijuana within state boundaries to people 21 or older. The state
liquor-control board will oversee licensing and inspection.

Proponents argued that stand-alone marijuana stores could generate tax
revenue of $500 to $600 million annually for the state.

Federal prosecutors have occasionally filed criminal charges against
licensed medical marijuana distributors in a number of states and have
pursued civil suits in which they seized the distributors' assets.
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