By Reid Cherlin | POLITICO
And you thought pot-smokers were lazy. While Washington has convulsed in gridlock and dysfunction, marijuana advocates have won ballot initiatives to legalize recreational use in Colorado and Washington, swung public opinion in favor of full legalization for the first time and begun knocking on the door in at least four other states. Alaska, California, Oregon and Nevada are all mulling decriminalization campaigns in 2014 or 2016, and they may be joined by others.
That success has also set up a vexing legal paradox: If marijuana, long illegal under federal law, is permitted by a state, smoking pot in that state—or buying it, or selling it—is both legal and illegal at once. And although the Justice Department and its law-enforcement authorities have allowed state laws to take effect this month as planned, there is every reason to believe the truce to be tenuous. “You can’t have a stable policy regime when the laws are at odds,” a former Obama official who worked on marijuana regulation told me.
Related: D.C. Lawmakers Advance Measure to Loosen Marijuana Law
Takeaways from the Latest in Cannabis Legalization Polling
DEA: State Marijuana Legalization ‘Reckless And Irresponsible’
If you’d like to discuss medical marijuana, contact Ryan Hurley, director of the Rose Law Group Medical Marijuana Dept. rhurley@roselawgroup.com
