Law & Politics

Lawsuit Officially Filed Against Colorado for Legal Cannabis, Source: http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/03/28/ap78871575195_wide-8c4bf4b46c62b01651d781f1aaa81a48ee202b9a.jpg?s=1400County sheriffs and prosecutors from three states, including Colorado, are filing a lawsuit against Colorado for its legalization of recreational cannabis. The prosecutors claim that large amounts of weed crossing state lines is creating problems for smaller police departments and courts that don’t have enough resources to deal with all the cannabis related arrests they are making.

Among those who filed the lawsuit are six Colorado sheriffs, four Nebraska sheriffs as well as two county attorneys from Nebraska and Kansas. It should be noted however, that this case is only against recreational cannabis in Colorado, and does not oppose the use of legal medicinal cannabis.

“Amendment 64 is preempted by federal law and therefore violates the Supremacy Clause (Article VI) of the United States Constitution,” argues the lawsuit, recently filed in federal court. Police complain that Colorado’s legalization of cannabis is causing them to make more arrests and filling up their courts and jails (hmm, it seems a simple solution to this problem would be to stop arresting non-violent offenders just for possessing a plant).

“Colorado’s legalization of marijuana has completely changed the landscape involving the marijuana that we encounter,” said Sheriff Mark Overman of Scott’s Bluff County, Nebraska. “Because of Amendment 64, our jails are full, our court dockets are full. There are increased costs for overtime, for incarceration.”

It seems that one thing cannabis proponents and detractors can both agree on is that our taxpayers should not have to be paying for all of these cannabis related arrests. But the anti-cannabis opposition thinks the solution to the problem is to strike down Colorado’s historic Amendment 64.

“We think that what Colorado has done is illegal; we think it’s unconstitutional,” Overman said. “I believe, my fellow plaintiffs believe, that this case is going to have national ramifications. And, if we win, then we can reverse what looks like a surrender to the pro-marijuana crowd.” This court case is quite a concern as the lawsuit has the backing of national anti-legalization groups and the plaintiffs are seeking to make this a nationwide issue.

Gov. John Hickenlooper has been named by the suit as the sole defendant in the case. According to her spokesperson, Colorado’s attorney general Cynthia Coffman will act as the defense of the state in the lawsuit. Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith told the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., that the passage of amendment 64 has created “a constitutional showdown” in the state.

Weedists might argue that the state simply responded to the voice of the people who voted in the law. What good does adhering to the legal tradition of constitutional law do, if it goes against what people want? The government is supposed to serve our collective interest after all. All this to say that this could be a very big problem for the cannabis community, and that weedists should keep track of events that take place as the anti-cannabis backlash continues.