Opponents of marijuana will try everything they can to try to stop marijuana legalization from happening. Even after marijuana has been legalized, and the benefits of that reform have been made obvious, opponents will still try to cling to failed policies of the past. That is what is occurring right now with the lawsuit filed by Oklahoma and Nebraska against Colorado. Oklahoma and Nebraska are suing the State of Colorado, claiming that marijuana legalization there has increased crime in their states.
The Attorney General of Colorado responded late last week, and was joined by the Attorney Generals of Oregon and Washington. Per Marijuana Business Daily:
Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman filed a formal response with the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday regarding a lawsuit from the attorneys general of Nebraska and Oklahoma, who are asking the nation’s high court to nullify Colorado’s recreational marijuana law.
The Washington and Oregon state attorneys general also filed a joint “friend of the court” brief in support of Colorado’s position on the suit.
The plaintiffs allege that Colorado’s rec industry has resulted in a spike in illegal cannabis trafficking across state lines.
As many activists pointed out when the original lawsuit was filed, Colorado doesn’t have a marijuana problem, Oklahoma and Nebraska have a prohibition problem. I have seen a lot of legal analysis from very smart people that have looked over the case, and all of them agree that the lawsuit doesn’t have the legs to win. It still worries me though because when something involves marijuana, it seems to always be treated differently. We will just have to wait and see what happens as the case proceeds.
