The New York Times Editorial Board
The Justice Department took an important step toward sanity in the enforcement of drug laws last week when it announced a “trust but verify” approach to states permitting the growth, sale and possession of marijuana.
Under the new policy, which James Cole, the deputy attorney general, set out in a memo to federal prosecutors on Aug. 29, the department will not sue to block state laws that legalize marijuana, so long as those states employ “strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems” that keep marijuana out of the hands of minors, prevent gangs and cartels from profiting from marijuana sales, and punish driving while under the drug’s influence.
The announcement follows closely on Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.’s speech last month on criminal justice reform, which included an order to prosecutors to avoid invoking mandatory minimum sentences when charging low-level drug offenders. Both reforms signal a long-overdue acknowledgment of the costs the nation continues to pay in the indiscriminate, overzealous prosecution of its five-decade war on drugs.
While we believe strongly that states cannot simply pre-empt federal law at their whim, and we are not prepared to support full national legalization of marijuana, there are times when Washington should enforce its prerogatives and times when it should stand aside.
If you’d like to discuss medical marijuana, contact Ryan Hurley, director of the Rose Law Group Medical Marijuana Dept. rhurley@roselawgroup.com
