The White House is seeking to prevent a lawsuit geared toward stopping Colorado's marijuana legalization. In a brief filed last Wednesday, the Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to throw out the case brought on by neighboring Nebraska and Oklahoma, where possession can still be a felony.
Both states claim Colorado's legal marijuana is being smuggled across the borders at such a high amount it's "draining their treasuries, and placing stress on their criminal justice systems."
While the Obama administration has refused to budge on marijuana's Schedule 1 status, its active engagement to end the lawsuit signals further acceptance for other states looking to legalize recreational use.
As Reason senior editor and drug-policy blogger Jacob Sullum points out in his latest interview with Reason TV, the states are where the first steps at correcting bad federal policy are taken.
"When they repealed alcohol prohibition, it was left up to the states what to do with alcohol," says Sullum. "And so you have most of the Republican presidential candidates saying the federal government should not interfere if the states want to legalize. That's really an amazing development."
And soon mores states are going to have similar reasons to start getting comfortable with cannabis:
In 2016, recreational marijuana reform may be on the ballot in nearly a dozen states and Sullum is optimistic. With support for recreational marijuana polling at a record-high 58 percent, it's only a question of how many states legalize in next year's elections.
To learn more on the future of marijuana legalization watch "Recreational Pot Will Be Legal Just About Everywhere Soon" above or read the original article here.
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