Pubdate: Thu, 17 Dec 2015
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2015 ASSOCIATED PRESS
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION URGES REJECTION OF POT SUIT

WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite its opposition to making marijuana use 
legal, the Obama administration is urging the Supreme Court to reject 
a lawsuit from Nebraska and Oklahoma that seeks to declare Colorado's 
pot legalization unconstitutional.

The Justice Department's top courtroom lawyer said in a brief filed 
Wednesday that the interstate dispute over a measure approved by 
Colorado voters in 2012 does not belong at the high court.

Nebraska and Oklahoma filed their lawsuit directly with the Supreme 
Court in December 2014, arguing that Colorado's law allowing 
recreational marijuana use by adults runs afoul of federal antidrug 
laws. States can sue each other in the Supreme Court, a rare instance 
in which the justices are not hearing appeals of lower court rulings.

The two states complained that Colorado's action has hindered efforts 
to enforce anti-marijuana laws in their states. They say combatting 
marijuana that's coming across the border is a drain on their resources.

But Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. said Nebraska and Oklahoma 
are not alleging that Colorado "has directed or authorized" anyone to 
transport marijuana across state lines.

"At most, they have alleged that third-party lawbreakers are 
inflicting those injuries, and that Colorado's legal regime makes it 
easier for them to do so," Verrilli wrote. Taking up the dispute 
"would represent a substantial and unwarranted expansion of this 
court's original jurisdiction."

Verrilli's brief also notes that Colorado only allows people to 
possess 1 ounce or less of marijuana. Such small quantities carried 
across the border don't cause the states "to suffer great loss or any 
serious injury in terms of law-enforcement funding or other 
expenditures," Verrilli wrote.

The Obama administration "steadfastly opposes legalization of 
marijuana," The White House says on its website. But the 
administration also has said that it would not stand in the way of 
states that want to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana as long as 
there are effective controls to keep marijuana away from kids, the 
black market and federal property.

The Justice Department says it simply doesn't have the resources to 
police all violations of federal marijuana law, and so it will focus 
on those priorities.
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