The U.S. government will "vigorously enforce" federal laws against marijuana even if voters next month make California the first state to legalize pot, Attorney General Eric Holder says.
Holder's warning, contained in a letter to ex-federal drug enforcement chiefs, was his most direct statement yet against Proposition 19, and it sets up another showdown with California over marijuana if the measure passes.
With Prop 19 leading in the polls, the letter also raised questions about the extent to which federal drug agents would go into communities across the state to catch small-time users and dealers, or whether they even had the resources to do it.
If the ballot measure passes, the state would regulate recreational pot use. Adults could possess up to one ounce of the drug and grow small gardens on private property. Local governments would decide whether to allow and tax sales of the drug.
But Holder stressed that the Justice Department remains committed to enforcing the Controlled Substances Act in all states.
"We will vigorously enforce the CSA against those individuals and organizations that possess, manufacture or distribute marijuana for recreational use, even if such activities are permitted under state law," he wrote.
Unless you plan on making every weed possession case a federal one and rounding up thousands of Californians (if not millions) if Prop 19 passes, then you've not got a leg to stand on, man. The Feds don't have the manpower nor the facilities to handle pot charges on 1/7th of the entire US population. No way. He bluffing.
I don't use the stuff myself, my choice...but isn't that the point of Prop 19?
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We Californians are well aware of the tension between state and federal law on drugs, and understand that passing Prop 19 will open a can of worms that will lead to many competing lawsuits.
And we can't wait.
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