Pubdate: Tue, 29 Jul 2014
Source: Yakima Herald-Republic (WA)
Copyright: 2014 Yakima Herald-Republic
Contact: http://special.yakimaherald.com/submit/
Website: http://www.yakimaherald.com/home/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/511
Author: Kyung M. Song, The Seattle Times

SENATORS ASK WHITE HOUSE TO CLARIFY FED MARIJUANA LAWS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Spurred by the recent Interior Department decision
to block the use of federal irrigation water to cultivate marijuana,
the four U.S. senators from Washington and Colorado want the White
House to direct federal agencies to adopt uniform guidelines impacting
recreational pot.

In a letter Monday to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the lawmakers said the water ruling
conflicts with earlier guidelines issued by the Justice and Treasury
departments that seek to enforce the federal ban on marijuana only
selectively.

The appeal is signed by Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of
Washington and Mark Udall and Michael Bennet of Colorado. All four are
Democrats and represent the two states that have legalized and
regulated the recreational sale of marijuana.

The letter is part of an effort to prod Congress to eventually amend
the federal Controlled Substances Act to allow states to operate legal
marijuana markets - and remove the possibility of federal prosecution
on a range of activities related to selling and using pot.

Both the Justice and Treasury departments have issued memorandums
outlining how they would apply prosecutorial discretion to marijuana
violations. Among their priorities will be to keep kids away from pot,
go after gangs and cartels, prevent drugged driving and maintain the
ban on marijuana possession or use on federal property.

In May, however, Interior's Bureau of Reclamation announced it would
not allow its facilities or water to be used for marijuana
cultivation. The agency, which provides water to local irrigation
districts, said it would report known instances where federal water
was being used to grow pot plants.

The bureau's differing interpretation of its legal duty under the
Controlled Substances Act, the lawmakers said, made it incumbent on
the Obama administration to ensure consistency.

"We believe it is appropriate for the White House to assume a central
and coordinating role for this governmentwide approach," the lawmakers
wrote.

Alison Holcomb, the criminal-justice director for the ACLU of
Washington and an author of Washington's marijuana law, said clear
directives from the White House would help stave off potential conflicts.

For instance, Washington law directs that 1 percent of the excise tax
slapped on pot sales goes to the University of Washington and
Washington State University to research the short- and long-term
effects of marijuana use.

But under federal law, researchers could not handle samples of
Washington-grown pot without risking prosecution. Currently, all
marijuana federally approved for research must come from a
government-contracted farm at the University of Mississippi.

In addition, Holcomb said, it's possible federal highway funds could
be jeopardized if marijuana is transported on federally funded roads.
In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal law that withheld 5
percent of federal highway funds from states whose minimum drinking
ages were under 21, the federal requirement.
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