Pubdate: Sat, 28 Mar 2015
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2015 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Contact: http://www.newsok.com/voices/guidelines
Website: http://newsok.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author: Chris Casteel

COLORADO DEFENDS ITS POT LAWS AGAINST OKLAHOMA, NEBRASKA SUIT

WASHINGTON - Colorado defended its marijuana laws on Friday against a 
legal attack from Oklahoma and Nebraska and argued to the U.S. 
Supreme Court that its sovereignty is being challenged by the two 
neighboring states.

"Nebraska and Oklahoma filed this case in an attempt to reach across 
their borders and selectively invalidate state laws with which they 
disagree," the Colorado attorney general's office said in a brief 
filed with the Supreme Court.

Colorado was responding to a request filed with the high court in 
December. Oklahoma and Nebraska want the court's permission to sue 
Colorado over certain aspects of the state's laws legalizing the 
recreational use of marijuana.

The states claim Colorado's laws allowing the manufacture, possession 
and distribution of marijuana have led to more illegal drugs being 
taken across state lines.

The laws have "created a dangerous gap in the federal drug control 
system enacted by the United States Congress," Oklahoma and Nebraska 
stated in their December filing.

"Marijuana flows from this gap into neighboring states, undermining 
Plaintiff States' own marijuana bans, draining their treasuries, and 
placing stress on their criminal justice systems."

Colorado argued Friday that the U.S. Supreme Court should not allow 
the case to proceed because its neighbors were trying to "manipulate" 
the laws by seeking to strip away some regulation but leaving pot 
legalization intact. Moreover, Colorado said, the states' real beef 
was with the federal government.

Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman said Friday, "My office 
remains committed to defending Colorado's law.

"At the same time, I share our border states' concerns regarding 
illegal marijuana activity, and my office, as well as our partner 
state and local law enforcement agencies, are committed to stopping 
marijuana diversion. This lawsuit, however, even if successful, won't 
fix America's national drug policy - at least not without leadership 
from Washington, D.C., which remains noticeably absent."

Oklahoma reaction

Aaron Cooper, a spokesman for Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, 
said "Colorado's legalization and promotion of commercialized 
marijuana is unprecedented and has negatively impacted surrounding 
states like Oklahoma and Nebraska."

Cooper pointed to a major bust in Colorado this week involving $12 
million in medical marijuana that was to be smuggled into other states.

He said the two states are not challenging Colorado voters' decision 
in 2012 to legalize the personal use and possession of marijuana.

"The only portion of the Colorado law Oklahoma is challenging is the 
section that transformed Colorado into a large-scale hub for the 
commercial growing and selling of marijuana, because those actions 
created a tide of illegal drugs flowing into Oklahoma, Nebraska and 
other states," Cooper said.

Colorado argued to the high court on Friday that the case presented a 
potentially "dangerous" use of the Supreme Court's jurisdiction over 
disputes between states. Oklahoma and Nebraska are asking the high 
court to strike down "only those laws that empower Colorado to 
authorize, monitor, and regulate recreational marijuana businesses."

"In other words, if (Oklahoma's and Nebraska's) requested relief is 
granted, recreational marijuana would remain legal, but Colorado 
would lose the ability to monitor and regulate its retail supply and 
distribution."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom