Nebraska and Oklahoma Sue Colorado in Pot Dispute

Nearly a year after Colorado blazed a trail in the movement to legalize recreational marijuana use in the U.S., two neighboring states are totally harshing the stoner mecca’s mellow.

The attorneys general of Oklahoma and Nebraska have teamed up to sue Colorado — in the Supreme Court, no less — for trouble they believe the pot-friendly state has created by virtue of shared borders and a certain mercenary attitude toward promoting weed consumption.

The plaintiffs claim that marijuana from Colorado is finding its way into their territory, bringing them all the hassle of the legit drug culture but none of the Rocky Mountain high (via USA Today):

The suit invokes the federal government’s right to regulate both drugs and interstate commerce, and says Colorado’s decision to legalize marijuana has been “particularly burdensome” to police agencies on the other side of the state line.

[…] “In passing and enforcing Amendment 64, the state of Colorado has created a dangerous gap in the federal drug control system enacted by the United States Congress. Marijuana flows from this gap into neighboring states, undermining plaintiff states’ own marijuana bans, draining their treasuries, and placing stress on their criminal justice systems,” says the lawsuit. “The Constitution and the federal anti-drug laws do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local pro-drug policies and licensed distribution schemes throughout the country which conflict with federal laws.”

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said the lawsuit makes a distinction between legalized marijuana and the extensive commercialization permitted by Colorado.

Meanwhile, Colorado’s AG argues that the fault lies with the federal government for having interstate enforcement issues and vowed to defend the good, and exponentially more munchy-prone, people of his state in the Supreme Court.

–Posted by Kasia Anderson