This is silly. Nebraska and Oklahoma have filed a lawsuit against Colorado for legalizing marijuana and it’s sale, and the CO product is coming into their states, where it’s illegal. All state vs state cases go to the US Supreme Court.
First, I doubt the Court wants to bother with this. There are no constitutional issues: Marijuana is an illegal drug by federal law, and that law applies to the states. Nothing to debate.
Second, NE and OK don’t show how they are harmed by CO’s law. Colorado has been growing quality product for many years which has routinely ended up in Nebraska. Those crazy college kids in Lincoln have not been smoking the crappy Mexican weed for a long time.
Third, disputes between states are usually settled by the governors of the states, working out “gentlemen” agreements to avoid the hassle and cost of a court case. The Western governors are in constant communication on issues like this and almost always work things out, one way or the other. I’ll bet that NE and OK would withdraw their suit if CO threw some of the tax revenue from pot their way.
I’m baffled by an anecdote that’s been going around for a while, that a small Nebraska border town has reported that 50% of the stops by police have turned out to be related to Colorado pot. That implies that after a stop for probable cause, the officer saw or smelled pot so was justified in a search. One half of all speeders through this town have marijuana in clear view of a cop? I doubt the people carrying are unaware of the speed limits when crossing state lines, and they no doubt take basic measures to hide their stash under a seat or something. That 50% number is bullshit.
Colorado can do something here. When they legalized, there were reports that 80% of the buyers were from out of state. When I passed through the state almost all license plates in the parking lots were out of state. An RV park I stayed at handed out a sheet with the Colorado laws summarized, which included the warning that taking product across state lines was illegal. I have no doubt CO is capable of dealing with this, I also have no idea what that might be.
Pot has been flowing freely along the west coast for decades, crossing international lines as well as state borders. The Oregon law not only accommodates this reality, it actually encourages it.
The flyover states need to talk to their neighbors and work it out. And if Nebraska is getting a good supply of Colorado weed, they ought to be happy. And if they could import some decent food and beer from Colorado, that would be good, too.
[Longtime readers know that Nebraska is one of my favorite places. Their taste in food and beer (wine isn’t even on the agenda there) leaves a lot to be desired, though.]