Pubdate: Sat, 15 Mar 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Gene Johnson, The Associated Press
Page: 21A

FBI BALKS AT WASHINGTON POT BACKGROUND CHECKS

Seattle (AP) - The FBI is refusing to run nationwide background checks
on people applying to run legal marijuana businesses in Washington
state, even though it has conducted similar checks in Colorado.

The discrepancy illustrates the quandary the Justice Department faces
as it allows the states to experiment with regulating a drug that is
illegal under federal law.

Washington state has been asking for nearly a year whether the FBI
would conduct background checks on its applicants, to no avail. The
bureau's refusal raises the possibility that people with troublesome
criminal histories could wind up with pot licenses in the state.

It's a strange jam for the feds. The Obama administration has said it
wants the states to make sure pot revenue doesn't go to organized
crime and that state marijuana industries don't become a cover for the
trafficking of other illegal drugs. At the same time, it might be
tough for the FBI to stomach conducting such background checks -
essentially helping the states violate federal law.

The Justice Department declined to explain why it isn't conducting
checks in Washington.

Stephen Fischer, a spokesman for the FBI's Criminal Justice
Information Services Division, referred an Associated Press inquiry to
DOJ headquarters, which would only issue a written statement.

"To ensure a consistent national approach, the department has been
reviewing its background check policies, and we hope to have guidance
for states in the near term," it said.

The FBI has run nationwide background checks since 2010 on applicants
who sought to be involved in medical marijuana dispensaries in
Colorado, said Daria Serna, a spokeswoman for the state Department of
Revenue, in an e-mail.
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MAP posted-by: Matt