Two of Colorado’s neighbors are asking the nation’s top court to strike down the state’s recreational marijuana law.
In a lawsuit filed with the US supreme court on Thursday, the state attorneys general of Nebraska and Oklahoma argue that Colorado’s pot is spilling across state lines and creating a “dangerous gap in the federal drug control system”.
“Marijuana flows from this gap into neighboring states, undermining plaintiff states’ own marijuana bans, draining their treasuries, and placing stress on their criminal justice systems,” the lawsuit says.
On 1 January 2014, Colorado became the first jurisdiction in the world to legalize the recreational sale of marijuana to those over 21. Though the law prohibits people from taking pot outside Colorado, law enforcement officials in bordering states have noted an uptick in marijuana flowing across state lines.
“Nebraska taxpayers have to bear the cost,” state attorney general Jon Bruning said, according to the Omaha World-Herald. “We can’t afford to divert resources to deal with Colorado’s problem.”
In a statement, Bruning added: “Federal law undisputedly prohibits the production and sale of marijuana. Colorado has undermined the United States constitution, and I hope the US supreme court will uphold our constitutional principles.” The substance is still banned under US federal law.
John Suthers, Colorado’s attorney general, said he was “not entirely surprised” by the lawsuit, and promised to defend the popular law approved by voters in November 2013.
“We believe this suit is without merit and we will vigorously defend against it in the US supreme court,” Suthers said.
Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt said on Thursday the state has had difficulty enforcing its own ban on the substance since neighboring Colorado made it legal.
“The illegal products being distributed in Colorado are being trafficked across state lines, thereby injuring neighboring states like Oklahoma and Nebraska,” Pruitt said in a statement. “As the state’s chief legal officer, the attorney general’s office is taking this step to protect the health and safety of Oklahomans.”
The decision by the attorneys general to file the lawsuit directly in the nation’s highest court is uncommon, and Pruitt noted that he is not sure when the court will respond.
The moves by Nebraska and Oklahoma have been cheered by anti-legalization groups such as Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
“Colorado’s decisions regarding marijuana are not without consequences to neighboring states, and indeed all Americans,” the group’s president, Kevin Sabet, said in a statement.
But the groups that fought long and hard to get Amendment 64 on the ballot are disappointed.
Mason Tvert, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, said he agrees with Colorado’s attorney general that the lawsuit lacks “merit”.
“They are wasting Nebraska and Oklahoma taxpayers’ dollars by filing this suit, and they’re forcing Coloradans to pick up the bill for defending ourselves against it,” Tvert said in an email. “Colorado’s top law enforcement officials have better things to do, and you’d think their counterparts in Nebraska and Oklahoma would as well.
“These guys are on the wrong side of history.”
