Pubdate: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 Source: Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) Copyright: 2013 The Virginian-Pilot Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/zJNzcThR Website: http://hamptonroads.com/pilotonline Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/483 STATES LEAD WAY ON NEW POT POLICY Aggressive enforcement of federal drug laws has proven quite effective at building up law enforcement agencies and exploding government expenditures. But actually reducing drug use in the U.S.? Not quite. That assessment isn't in dispute. An Associated Press investigation in 2010 revealed this nation has spent $1 trillion on drug-control efforts since 1970. In return, an estimated 37 million nonviolent drug offenders have been imprisoned, the number of overdoses has steadily increased and the number of drug users nearly doubled. The federal government seems finally to be recognizing that a policy change is necessary. And that it may not have all the answers. The Justice Department announced last month that it doesn't intend to challenge state laws permitting recreational or medical uses of marijuana or use federal resources to enforce federal laws there. Instead, it will defer to states to handle the issue mostly on their own. It is a striking departure for President Barack Obama's administration, which previously had been willing to raid marijuana dispensaries sanctioned to operate by states, such as California, in defiance of federal law. It also follows an evolution of public sentiment. National polls conducted by Gallup have repeatedly shown Americans' growing interest in legalizing marijuana, even as the number of young Americans who've acknowledged trying the drug has declined. States have increasingly taken up the debate over whether to legalize marijuana, whether for recreational or medical use. More than 20 states and the District of Columbia have approved one or both uses. Left largely unsettled, however, has been the role of the federal and state governments in regulating drugs and policing their sale and use. Until now. The Justice Department made clear that it would resume enforcement if states didn't create and operate a regulatory structure that - among other conditions - forbade drugged driving and marijuana growing on public lands. In Colorado, where voters approved recreational use of marijuana last year, Attorney General John W. Suthers said that work is under way. He wasn't surprised by the feds' decision, just "mystified as to why it took so long to articulate it." "Clarification of the federal position, however, is nevertheless welcome." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom