Pubdate: Sat, 15 Dec 2012 Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Copyright: 2012 Hearst Communications Inc. Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1 Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388 Note: from the WASHINGTON POST TASK FORCE TACKLES WAYS TO MARKET RECREATIONAL POT On Monday afternoon, in a conference room in suburban Denver, two dozen members of a government task force will gather to begin hashing out the details of how to create a market for legal, recreational marijuana in Colorado. The group includes law enforcement officials, public health experts, marijuana advocates and others who have varying opinions but each shares a stake in the outcome. Looming over their task is the fact that growing, possessing and selling pot remains illegal under federal law. Leaders in Colorado and in Washington - the other state where citizens voted in November to legalize marijuana for people over 21 - have sought guidance from federal officials, but so far they have been met mostly with silence. President Obama told ABC News' Barbara Walters in an interview this week that recreational pot smoking in states that have legalized the drug is not a major concern for his administration. "We've got bigger fish to fry," Obama said. "It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it's legal." Those comments provide a glimpse into the president's thinking, but they hardly remove the legal uncertainty surrounding the issue. Under Obama, the Drug Enforcement Administration has aggressively gone after medical marijuana dispensaries in California, where they are legal. In September, federal officials raided several Los Angeles shops and sent warnings to many more. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a speech Wednesday that he would announce a policy on the new state laws "relatively soon," and a Department of Justice spokeswoman on Friday said the marijuana issue is "still under review." Despite that lingering ambiguity, officials in Washington and Colorado are pushing forward with plans to put in place a broad legal marijuana market, saying that they must respect the wishes of voters. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D