Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Author of Pot Law Downplays War on Weed


The author of Washington's new legal pot law said that there is really nothing new about 8 former DEA chiefs' demands to nullify the new pot laws in both Colorado and Washington. Alison Holcomb said that these are the same arguments that she has been hearing for years and some are accusing these DEA chiefs of irrelevant meddling in the state's affairs. While these arguments may be nothing new, a bigger issue looms on the horizon for these two states: how to respond to legal marijuana for adult recreational use.

According to the federal government, marijuana is a dangerous and illegal drug that has no medicinal value and should not be used either recreationally or medicinally. In addition, a United Nations drug agency recently urged the U.S. to fight legalizing marijuana in these states because it directly violated international drug treaties.

If the federal government tries to challenge Washington's legal pot law, then State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said that he is ready to fight and respond legally.

"I understand their perspective, but my job as lawyer for the state is to uphold Initiative 502 and that's what I intend to do."
                   --Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson

For now, legislators and Washington residents await U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's decision on how the federal government will respond to adults who choose to use legal marijuana recreationally. His decision is imminent and is expected to be announced sometime this month.

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