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.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D