Solicitor General Says SCOTUS Shouldn't Hear Challenge to Marijuana Legalization

The Obama administration says Nebraska and Oklahoma have not described a genuine controversy with Colorado.

In a brief filed on Wednesday, the Obama administration urges the Supreme Court not to hear Oklahoma and Nebraska's challenge to marijuana legalization in Colorado. "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," Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. writes. 

Oklahoma and Nebraska argue that Colorado's licensing and regulation of marijuana businesses violates the Controlled Substances Act and therefore the Supremacy Clause. They brought their complaint directly to the Supreme Court because they think Colorado has created an interstate conflict by allowing the production and distribution of marijuana that may end up in Oklahoma or Nebraska. Federal law gives the Supreme Court "original and...

Rate this article: 

This marijuana news is brought to you by 420 Intel. For the latest breaking cannabis industry news, subscribe to the 420 Intel newsletter. If you'd like to promote your product or service in this area after every article, contact us.