Pubdate: Sat, 26 Mar 2016
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2016 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Contact: http://www.newsok.com/voices/guidelines
Website: http://newsok.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318

STRONG LEADERSHIP NOT LIKELY

OKLAHOMA Attorney General Scott Pruitt's effort to sue the state of 
Colorado for its role in violating the drug laws of neighboring 
states fell short at the U.S. Supreme Court this week. That doesn't 
mean there isn't a problem, as even the attorney general of Colorado conceded.

Pruitt's lawsuit was not based on challenging the decision of 
Colorado citizens to legalize marijuana sales to Colorado residents. 
Instead, Pruitt sought to challenge Colorado state policies that are 
designed to generate revenue from the interstate sale of marijuana. 
For example, Colorado officials don't require that marijuana buyers 
be legal residents of Colorado, nor does the state limit the number 
of transactions to deter bulk trafficking. As a result, Colorado has 
become a hub of interstate marijuana sales and distribution.

The Obama administration has turned a blind eye to that activity, 
despite the fact that it violates federal law and the money reaped by 
cartels from the interstate sale of Colorado marijuana funds other 
criminal activities across the nation.

While thankful that her state won't have to defend Oklahoma's lawsuit 
in court, Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman pointedly 
noted that the Obama administration's inaction is creating law 
enforcement challenges across the country. Coffman said that "the 
legal questions surrounding" Colorado's marijuana legalization "still 
require stronger leadership from Washington."

Unfortunately for law-abiding citizens, the Obama administration 
isn't known for providing much leadership at all, let alone "strong" 
leadership, particularly on law-and-order issues. 30,517 were deemed 
valid. They needed 24,745 to be officially recognized. For the most 
part, this will have little impact in Oklahoma, because few races 
will draw Libertarian Party candidates. But an interesting exception 
may be the presidential race. This year will be the first since 2000 
when Oklahomans can vote for a presidential candidate who isn't a 
Republican or Democrat. In 2000, Oklahomans also had the chance to 
vote for a Reform Party or Libertarian Party candidate for president. 
That year, the two alternative party candidates received just 1.26 
percent of the vote in Oklahoma, combined. But given conservatives' 
distrust of Donald Trump, the Libertarian candidate may draw a lot 
more protest votes in Oklahoma this go-round.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom