Saying that Colorado's law legalizing recreational marijuana use is unconstitutional and places a burden on them, Nebraska and Oklahoma have filed a lawsuit against the state with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Marijuana was made legal in Colorado after the state's voters approved an amendment in 2012. Its first recreational dispensaries opened at the start of this year.
But officials in Nebraska and Oklahoma say Colorado's pot law has become a destabilizing force in their states, where their legal systems are struggling to enforce the federal ban on marijuana. They believe Colorado isn't doing enough to keep pot from leaving the state.
From Nebraska, Grant Gerlock of NET News reports:
"The two border states say Colorado's law legalizing marijuana violates federal law, which still bans the drug. They want the Supreme Court to strike it down.
"Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning says since Colorado legalized pot, police and courts on the border have been strained by an increasing number of marijuana cases.
" 'While Colorado reaps millions from the production and sale of pot,' Bruning says. 'Nebraska taxpayers have to bear the cost. We can't afford to divert resources to deal with Colorado's problem.'
"In a statement, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said he would defend the law. First, the Supreme Court has to decide whether to take up the case."
In Colorado, Marijuana advocate Mason Tvert tells Colorado Public Radio's Ben Markus that by filing the lawsuit, Nebraska and Oklahoma "are on the wrong side of history."
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