LEGAL WEED: Federal law may showdown with states : Crime Blotter

Posted on | December 10, 2012 | Comments

(Associated Press)

BY JOHN ASBURY

Before you break out your Maui Wowie or dank ganja, the U.S. Justice Department may want to weigh in.

Today, Colorado became the second state to approve a voter initiative that legalized marijuana for personal use. Washington did the same last week, creating a showdown between state and federal law.

Many have thought that California may be close behind, after the state decriminalized marijuana, no longer making possession a criminal offense, but instead an infraction ? equivalent to a traffic ticket, punishable only by a minimal fine.

But, according to the New York Times, federal officials may be plotting legal action to halt the states from lighting up under federal law, which still bans weed nationwide.

For now, Colorado and Washington are proceeding to follow the will of the voters and make marijuana legal, but it?s unclear how long that may last. This could be a similar issue of states rights vs. the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution that ends up before the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Riverside and other Inland communities are taking their own steps to ban medical dispensaries.

By John Asbury

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Source: http://blog.pe.com/crime-blotter/2012/12/10/legal-weed-federal-law-may-showdown-with-states/

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