Pubdate: Sun, 10 Mar 2013
Source: Register Citizen (CT)
Copyright: 2013 Denver Post
Contact:  http://www.registercitizen.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/598
Page: A6
Note: Editorial courtesy of the Denver Post, denverpost.com.

STATES SHOULD SET OWN MARIJUANA LAWS

Eight Former Directors of the Drug Enforcement Administration, As 
Well As Other Assorted Big Names Associated With National Drug 
Policy, Are Turning Up the Heat on Attorney General Eric Holder to 
Crack Down on Colorado and Washington for Legalizing Marijuana Last Fall.

Even the United Nations is getting into the act. A U.N.based agency, 
the International Narcotics Control Board, claimed this week that the 
Obama administration will violate treaties if it doesn't take action 
to stop the two states from forging a new marijuana policy.

So far, Holder continues to say the administration is close to 
announcing its policy, but is not quite there. On Wednesday, for 
example, he told a Senate panel his department was "still 
considering" how to proceed.

We hope Holder and his advisers take a deep breath and consider the 
source of these increasingly shrill attempts to persuade Washington 
to try to reverse the will of Colorado and Washington voters - and 
then ignore them.

Is it really surprising that former leaders of the war on drugs want 
to perpetuate their legacy rather than see another approach aimed at 
suppressing the black market in marijuana take root?

As Holder knows, the federal government cannot force states to 
enforce federal pot laws - so like it or not, the drug's possession 
will likely remain legal here and in Washington unless, in a colossal 
waste of resources, DEA agents are ordered to target recreational 
possession. However, the president himself has already said 
prosecuting recreational users is not a "top priority."

So whether a U.N. agency likes it or not, legalization is not going 
away. No treaty trumps our federal system.

Meanwhile, the big question is what attitude the federal government 
will take toward growing and selling marijuana commercially - 
activities the DEA could readily shut down.

That's what the former DEA chiefs want, of course, and in a letter 
this week to senators they asked, "Why isn't the Department of 
Justice enforcing the Controlled Substances Act in Colorado and Washington?"

Let's hope Holder understands that it's no small matter for the 
federal government to trample on state prerogatives when the 
consensus that once supported the nation's drug laws has utterly 
broken down. He should let Colorado and Washington implement their 
laws in the coming months just as their voters intended.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom