US urges Supreme Court to decline states' suit challenging Colorado pot sales
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The Obama administration is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to refuse to hear a challenge to Colorado’s legalization of marijuana filed by Nebraska and Oklahoma.
The two states filed their challenge directly in the U.S. Supreme Court under a provision of the Constitution that allows controversies between the states to be tried there, SCOTUSblog reports. How Appealing links to additional coverage, including stories by the Cannabist and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)
The two states argue that marijuana from Colorado is flowing to neighboring states and stressing their criminal justice systems. They contend Colorado’s pot laws should be invalidated under the supremacy clause.
U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli argued the marijuana case isn’t appropriate for the exercise of the court’s original jurisdiction.
Nebraska and Oklahoma are essentially arguing that Colorado’s marijuana laws make it more likely that third parties will violate federal and state law in another state, Verrilli’s brief says. That is different from a situation where a state is accused of directly harming another state, according to the brief.
