Pubdate: Mon, 03 Jun 2013
Source: Corvallis Gazette-Times (OR)
Copyright: 2013 Lee Enterprises
Website: http://www.gazettetimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2976

STATES COULD TAKE THE LEAD ON MARIJUANA

It could happen as early as 2014.

In the wake of ballot measures legalizing marijuana in Washington
state and Colorado, it's not at all out of the question that Oregon
voters will have another shot at legalizing marijuana in this state.

Now, it's true that Oregon voters just last November rejected another
initiative, Ballot Measure 80, which would have legalized marijuana.
But our sense is that voters were reluctant to ratify that particular
measure because -- well, because it was loony.

If there's a pot-legalization measure on the Oregon ballot in 2014 --
and if the measure appears to have been crafted with somewhat more
care than went into Measure 80 -- our hunch is that the measure will
pass.

And Oregon state law on marijuana will lurch into head-on conflict
with federal law.

The Obama administration hasn't given much guidance on this matter to
its federal attorneys in Washington state and Colorado after the
marijuana votes in those states. In fact, Obama himself said that his
administration had "bigger fish to fry" than figuring out strategies
to help cut through the thicket of contradictions between state and
federal drug laws.

Now, though, it's likely that the fish Obama famously blew off is just
going to get bigger -- and there's the sense, as U.S. Rep. Earl
Blumenauer told our editorial board last week, that the U.S. public is
ahead of Congress on this issue. Recent national polls have suggested
that, for the first time, a majority of Americans favor legalization
of marijuana -- and younger Americans are heavily in favor of
legalization.

Congress has a bit of a window to try to unravel the growing conflict
between state and federal law, but the window is starting to close.
Blumenauer, who represents Oregon's Third District in Multnomah
County, pointed to a variety of legislation pending before Congress
that could help cut through the thicket.

Some of those measures, such as a bill to clarify that farmers legally
can grow industrial hemp, enjoy at least a measure of bipartisan
support and frankly are long overdue.

Other measures pending before Congress, such as bills to legalize
marijuana at the federal level to the extent it's legal in each state,
obviously are more controversial.

But the bottom line seems increasingly clear: Americans are growing
weary of what they see as an increasingly futile war against
marijuana. If Congress doesn't take advantage of this opportunity to
lead, Americans will take matters into their own hands, one state at a
time.
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MAP posted-by: Matt