Pubdate: Tue, 13 Nov 2012
Source: Eagle-Tribune, The (MA)
Copyright: 2012 The Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.eagletribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/129

COLO., WASH. AWAIT FEDERAL RESPONSE TO POT MEASURES

DENVER (AP) - Should marijuana be treated like alcohol? Or should it 
remain in the same legal category as heroin and the most dangerous drugs?

Votes this week by Colorado and Washington to allow adult marijuana 
possession have prompted what could be a turning point in the 
nation's conflicted and confusing war on drugs.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was to talk Friday by phone with 
Colorado's governor, who wants to know whether the federal government 
would sue to block the marijuana measures. Both states are holding 
off on plans to regulate and tax the drug while waiting to see 
whether the U.S. Justice Department would assert federal authority 
over drug law.

The Obama administration has largely turned a blind eye to the 17 
states that currently flout federal drug law by allowing people with 
certain medical conditions to use pot, something banned under federal law.

"In a situation like this, where our law is at loggerheads with 
federal law, my primary job is to listen first," Colorado Gov. John 
Hickenlooper said Wednesday.

Hickenlooper opposed the ballot measure and has downplayed the 
likelihood of a commercial marijuana market materializing in Colorado.

"Based on federal law, if it's still illegal under federal law, I 
can't imagine that 7-Eleven is ever going to sell it," he said.

In Washington state, a spokesman for Gov. Chris Gregoire said this 
week that Gregoire would respect the will of the people.

"We are entering uncharted waters and many questions lie ahead as we 
work to implement this law," said spokesman Cory Curtis. "Because 
marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, we are unsure how 
the federal government will proceed."

Meanwhile, marijuana activists are waiting for a Washington, D.C., 
federal appeals court to decide whether marijuana should be 
reclassified from its current status as a dangerous drug with no 
accepted medical use.

Last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration rejected a petition by 
medical marijuana advocates to change the classification, which kept 
marijuana in the same category as drugs such as heroin. 
Reclassification of marijuana could open the door for more research 
into its medical use, so marijuana activists consider 
reclassification a major step.

Marijuana advocates hope the federal government maintains its current 
posture of mostly ignoring states that flout federal law by allowing 
medical use under certain circumstances.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom