U.S. Supreme Court turns down states' dispute over Colorado's marijuana legalization laws

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a lawsuit filed by Colorado's neighboring states challenging its legalization of recreational marijuana. The petitioners contended that Colorado's marijuana law causes "direct and significant detrimental impact" and undermines federal laws.

The suit was filed by Nebraska and Oklahama. In the complaint, both states argued that Colorado's relaxation of marijuana laws has increased trafficking of the said substance over their borders, forcing them to use up more "law enforcement, judicial system and penal system resources."

"The State of Colorado authorizes, oversees, protects and profits from a sprawling $100-million-per-month marijuana growing, processing and retailing organization that exported thousands of pounds of marijuana to some 36 states in 2014," the states of Nebraska and Oklahoma said in their complaint.

"If this entity were based south of our border, the federal government would prosecute it as a drug cartel."

Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. is of the opinion that Nebraska and Oklahoma failed to show any kind of injury that gives rise to a cause of action that would give the high court original jurisdiction to hear the case.

"Entertaining the type of dispute at issue here - essentially that one state's laws make it more likely that third parties will violate federal and state law in another state - would represent a substantial and unwarranted expansion of this court's original jurisdiction," Verrilli said, as quoted by The Washington Post.

According to NBC News, the Supreme Court declined to take up the lawsuit in an unsigned opinion. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the decision. In his dissenting opinion, Thomas said the Supreme Court should have taken cognizance of the case because "the plaintiff states have made a reasonable case."

Thomas added, "Whatever the merits of the plaintiff state's claims, we should let this complaint proceed further rather than denying leave without so much as a word of explanation."

Meanwhile, Colorado said Nebraska and Oklahoma are not challenging the state's law on marijuana per se but rather how some of its parts operate in relation to federal laws, and how the federal government is declining to prosecute cases of simple marijuana possession in states where use of the substance has been allowed.

In 2012, Colorado voters approved the legalization of recreational marijuana use and regulating its sale and distribution.

Tags

Colorado marijuana law, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. federal laws, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, Marijuana, recreational marijuana

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