Discussion for article #231340
Shouldn’t OK be more worried about rampant lesbianism in school bathrooms?
Kidding aside, it won’t be long before many other states follow CO’s lead and get with the 20th century.
Edit: Something something States Rights or something.
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Ah, yes, the GOP. The party of individual liberty and states’ rights…
…until you do something they don’t like.
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What a crock of shit.
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icymi - there was good story in The New York Times about Scott Pruitt being selected to run a new coalition of Republican Attorney Generals called the Rule Of Law campaign. He copied an oil company lobbyist’s letter onto official state letter head and forwarded it to the EPA.
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“Oklahoma and states surrounding Colorado are being impacted by Colorado’s decision to legalize and promote the commercialization of marijuana which has injured Oklahoma’s ability to enforce our state’s policies against marijuana,” Pruitt said in a statement, per the Post.
I’m not sure he’s got a legitimate grievance here. That’s some awfully thin soup.
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The eastern borders of Colorado are Nebraska, Kansas, only one of those two is suing. The southern border of Colorado is Oklahoma and New Mexico, only one of those two are suing.
For anyone who has ever been within 50 miles of any of those borders to Colorado, one knows that there are few towns, and more cattle than people in that border area.
Most of these border lands are ranches, fields of grain, a few small towns. Just what is Colorado doing that infringes on the rights of the ranchers and farmers and cattle along those borders? I fail to see the harm Colorado is bringing upon any of those 3 of 5 states along those borders. ONLY two of five states with actual Colorado border lines, those with the least of border line mileage with Colorado are suing. Could this be just some sort of political issue, and not based upon actual damages?
Here’s what the smallest border mileage state claims for damages against Colorado:
"has injured Oklahoma’s ability to enforce our state’s policies against marijuana,”
Sorry, AG Pruit: last time I was in OK, I found many places where people grew pot on their own ranch for their own enjoyment among friends, and some pretty sophisticated methamphetamine labs, and incompetent law enforcers trying to clean up what was within the state of OK. I doubt a few more pounds of MJ coming from CO makes a hell of a lot of difference unless you’re mixing it with food for those cattle headed for slaughter tomorrow.
As for Nebraska, last time I looked Omaha had a bigger drug traffic problem from Texas and Mexico than from Colorado.
You folks in OK and NE expect the Supreme Court to find a constitutional issue here? Let’s review history. Ever since prohibition was struck down, states were free to be wet or dry. That has no hint of unconstitutionality, and, indeed, has been decided upon several times before in the 1900’s.
Good luck, OK and NE…at least you’re looking like you’re doing something for an issue that isn’t even a major problem in your own state. That’s how you AG guys advance your careers, and you’re doing it well…
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If only there were a Republican cough (Rand Paul) who supports legalization and is in a position to maybe introduce bi-partisan legislation to amend the CSA.
Also, this lawsuit is more about pointing fingers at the Obama administration for “not enforcing the CSA” than it is about what CO is doing.
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I didn’t read the complaint but I think you hit the nail on the head. How exactly is this impacting Oklahoma and Nebraska’s ability to enforce their own policies? I believe the Colorado law prohibits people from importing pot from CO to states where it is not also legal. Has there been a massive stampede of people over state lines resulting in the OK and NE police being incapable of keeping control?
sounds like another political stunt by a couple of people who don’t like certain people in DC.
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In his defense, I believe he did change two words in the letter.
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It’s Colorado’s misfortune to have Oklahoma as a neighbor.
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Wow, they support Federal power now???
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And flattened prairie dogs. Miles and miles of flattened prairie dogs. (at least the few times I was on I76)
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I know that area of northeastern and eastern and southeastern Colorado well. I have spent more than a few weeks in that area where one small town looks exactly like a small town 200 miles away, on either side of whatever state borders. One can drive 50 miles from one state to the next, and hardly see another car sometimes, lots of wild prairie dogs, some cattle, a field of cattle here and there, other wild animals, deer, gazelles some wolves,birds in migration, an oil well here or there. Not people, people don’t live there on those border areas. Last I knew, wild animals and cattle and whatever else were not smoking pot, not “violating” laws.
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I would bet that the proximity to CO is increasing the quality of pot in neighboring states by both exposing residents to better product, and by providing a state where good pot can be grown in small quantities legally. The thing is, price and state tracking make it hard for large volumes yo cross the borders.
The much bigger “harm” is the example that CO sets. The citizens of OK and NE may start thinking that they can legalize the safe alternative to alcohol in their own states.
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Good to see that Oklahoma and Nebraska have something in common with Mexican drug cartels… follow the money…
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But I thought the crazy right-wingers in NE and OK were all about the states’ rights? What gives?
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The GOP is why we can’t have nice things.
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Bingo. But, I’m surprised its taken this long. This was always going to be the real issue. Is the Court going to hear it?
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Thanks for the link. I hadn’t heard about this…and it’s super creepy.
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