Pubdate: Sat, 31 Aug 2013
Source: Detroit News (MI)
Copyright: 2013 Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.detroitnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/126
Authors: Gene Johnson and Pete Yost, Associated Press

WASH., COLO. POT REFORMERS HAIL FEDS' GREEN LIGHT

Under New Policy States Free to Apply Laws OK'd Last Year

Seattle (AP) - For generations, pot crusaders have called for an end 
to the nation's prohibition of marijuana, citing everything from what 
they say are the government's exaggerated claims about its dangers to 
the racial disparities in who gets busted for drug possession.

Now, they will get their chance in Colorado and Washington state to 
show that legalizing pot is better, less costly and more humane than 
the last 75 years of prohibition - all with the federal government's blessing.

The Justice Department said Thursday it will not stand in the way of 
states that want to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana as voters in 
Washington and Colorado did last fall, as long as there are effective 
controls to keep marijuana away from kids, the black market and 
federal property.

"It's nothing short of historic," said Dan Riffle of the Marijuana 
Policy Project, which backed Colorado's new law. "It's a very big 
deal for the DOJ to say that if the states want to legalize 
marijuana, that's fine. Everybody in this movement should be thrilled."

It won't just be the White House watching to make sure Washington and 
Colorado get it right. Voters in Oregon and Alaska could weigh 
marijuana legalization measures next year, and several states could 
face ballot questions in 2016, activists say.

The DOJ's decision came nearly 10 months after the votes in 
Washington and Colorado, and officials in those states had been 
forging ahead to make rules for their new industries without knowing 
whether the federal government would sue to block sales from ever 
taking place on the grounds that they conflict with federal law.

Licensed, taxed marijuana sales in the two states are due to start 
next year, and officials have estimated they could raise tens or 
hundreds of millions of dollars for state coffers.

The administration's guidance laid out eight federal law enforcement 
priorities that states need to protect if they want to authorize 
"marijuana-related conduct." They include keeping marijuana in-state, 
off the black market, and away from children; preventing violence and 
gun crimes related to marijuana distribution; and preventing drugged driving.

The DOJ noted that it simply doesn't have the resources to police all 
violations of federal marijuana law, and so it would focus on 
entities that threaten those priorities. If a state's enforcement 
efforts don't work, the feds could sue to block the state's entire 
pot regulating scheme, Deputy Attorney General James Cole wrote in a 
memo to all 94 U.S. attorneys around the country.

Peter Bensinger, a former head of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration, criticized the announcement, saying the conflict 
between federal and state law can't be reconciled.

Kristi Kelly, a co-founder of three medical marijuana shops near 
Denver, said the Justice Department's action is a step in the right 
direction. "We've been operating in a gray area for a long time. 
We're looking for some sort of concrete assurances that this industry 
is viable," she said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom