Washington, Colorado defend pot law

The top law enforcement officials in Washington and Colorado are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a lawsuit from states that seek to strike down Colorado laws that legalize recreational marijuana use.

Oklahoma and Nebraska filed their suit directly with the Supreme Court, arguing that Colorado’s move to legalize marijuana conflicts with federal drug regulations.

The Oklahoma and Nebraska attorneys general contend that easy access to marijuana has led to a surge in trafficking, with residents crossing into Colorado to purchase pot legally and sell it-illicitly-at home in Nebraska or Oklahoma. Kansas has also considered joining the suit.

In a 49-page brief filed Friday, Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman urged the nation’s highest court to throw out the suit.

“My office remains committed to defending Colorado’s law,” Coffman said in a statement. “At the same time, I share our border states’ concerns regarding illegal marijuana activity, and my office, as well as our partner state and local law enforcement agencies, are committed to stopping marijuana diversion. This lawsuit, however, even if successful, won’t fix America’s national drug policy.”

In 2012 voters in Colorado and Washington approved measures to legalize marijuana use. Colorado’s law allows for the sale and possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use for anyone 21 and over with a valid driver’s license.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a friend-of-the-court brief Friday asking the Supreme Court to dump Nebraska and Oklahoma’s lawsuit, suggesting that it could also threaten laws in his state.

“I am disappointed that Nebraska and Oklahoma took this step to interfere with Colorado’s popularly enacted initiative to legalize marijuana,” he said in a statement. “I filed this brief to protect Washington’s interests and the will of Washington’s voters from interference by other states.”

In their briefs, Hoffman and Ferguson argued that the Supreme Court should adhere to its long-standing policy of not settling policy disputes between the states.

Citing as evidence of the lawsuit’s merits, Aaron Cooper, a spokesman for Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, pointed to the recent take-down of an interstate drug ring that was trafficking medical marijuana from Colorado to other states.

“This week Colorado announced its largest marijuana bust since legalization-a single criminal operation responsible for trafficking $12 million in illegal medical marijuana out of Colorado and into other states. Oklahoma is not challenging Colorado’s decision to legalize marijuana for personal use or possession under Colorado state law,” Cooper said. “The only portion of the Colorado law Oklahoma is challenging is the section that transformed Colorado into a large-scale hub for the commercial growing and selling of marijuana.”

A spokeswoman for Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson said his office was reviewing Colorado’s filing but declined to comment further.

The legal challenge filed by Colorado’s border states has been scoffed at by experts, and conservatives have even stepped forward to criticize the suits filed by two heavily Republican states.

In January, a number of GOP legislators in Oklahoma asked Pruitt to drop the suit because it infringed on states’ rights to pass their own laws.

Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett, who has argued a marijuana case before the Supreme Court, previously told the Los Angeles Times that Oklahoma and Nebraska had no basis for the suit.

“This is a very weak claim. Their real beef is with the federal government for not enforcing the federal drug laws,” he said. “It is not up to the states to sue each other when the federal government is not enforcing the law.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.