| Eric Holder. |
Nearly six months after Colorado and Washington voters approved measures legalizing small amounts of marijuana and marijuana dispensaries, Attorney General Eric Holder says he is still trying to make up his mind whether to drop the hammer or not.
According to an Associated Press report, Holder told a House Appropriations subcommittee Thursday that he would be enforcing federal law – something he has said all along. But he hasn’t come out and said just how much he’d be enforcing it. That is to say, he’s considering whether or not to sue the states to stop the initiatives from being implemented altogether.
Lawmakers in both states have spoken with Holder, but have come away from the meetings with no clear answers. Still, both Washington and Colorado lawmakers are ironing out legislation around the respective bills despite a lack of input from the feds.
Holder says he’s weighing what the impact on children would be (Editor’s note: In Colorado, it could be huge. Like $40 million per year in increased school funding through tax revenue huge.) He’s also looking into things like violence and trafficking and organized crime. You know, all of those things that come with keeping a plant illegal.
Holder also said that he wouldn’t favor legalizing it, though he also brought up President Barack Obama’s December interview where he said he wouldn’t make private recreational users following state law a priority.
Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris was not pleased with Holder’s lack of a response either, though for much different reasons than marijuana activists are. Harris – who clearly bought into the War on Drugs/D.A.R.E. bullshit – said that kids in America need a stern message that marijuana “is not a safe drug” and “because children are dying from drugs. It is a scourge.”
