Pubdate: Mon, 15 Apr 2013
Source: Washington Times (DC)
Copyright: 2013 The Washington Times, LLC.
Contact:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/492
Author: Valerie Richardson
Page: A6

POT-LEGALIZING STATES GET A BOOST

U.S. House Bill Would End Conflicts With Federal Laws

A U.S. House lawmaker has introduced a bill to end the conflict 
between the federal government and the states over legalized pot, 
five months after Colorado and Washington voters approved the first 
statewide ballot measures decriminalizing marijuana use for adults.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican, said the "Respect State 
Marijuana Laws Act" would end the limbo that finds Colorado and 
Washington lawmakers moving forward with pot regulations even as the 
Obama administration Justice Department weighs continuing to enforce 
federal laws against marijuana in those states.

"This bipartisan bill represents a common-sense approach that 
establishes federal government respect for all states' marijuana 
laws," Mr. Rohrabacher said in a statement Friday. "It does so by 
keeping the federal government out of the business of criminalizing 
marijuana activities in states that don't want it to be criminal."

But Kevin Sabet, a former adviser in the White House Office of 
National Drug Policy during both the Obama and George W. Bush 
administrations, said the bill, like previous marijuana legalization 
bills, is "bound to fail."

"And it probably should. Since users who consume small amounts of 
marijuana are rarely, if ever, noticed by federal authorities, this 
provision would have little real-world effect," Mr. Sabet, president 
of Policy Solutions Group, said in an email. "It would, however, 
represent something of a symbolic victory toward repealing all of our 
marijuana laws."

The federal Controlled Substances Act bans the production, sale and 
use of marijuana, but in 2009, the Justice Department issued a memo 
saying it would give leeway to states where voters have approved 
marijuana for medicinal uses.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has yet to say whether he will 
let Colorado and Washington proceed with legalizing recreational 
marijuana. In March, he told a Senate committee that the Justice 
Department would issue a guidance "relatively soon."

The House bill, introduced with both Democratic and Republican 
cosponsors, would amend the federal act to protect from prosecution 
marijuana smokers, as well as medical and nonmedical marijuana 
businesses, in states that have legalized pot.

"Marijuana prohibition is on its last legs because most Americans no 
longer support it," said Steve Fox, national political director of 
the Marijuana Policy Project. "This legislation presents a perfect 
opportunity for members to embrace the notion that states should be 
able to devise systems for regulating marijuana without their 
citizens having to worry about breaking federal law."

In a March letter, nine former Drug Enforcement Administration chiefs 
and four former drug czars urged the Justice Department to remain 
firm on enforcing federal drug laws in Colorado and Washington.

Voters in Colorado and Washington approved ballot measures in 
November permitting recreational use of marijuana for those 21 and 
older, and directing state legislatures to devise regulatory 
frameworks similar to those governing liquor sales and distribution.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom