Colorado Waits for Fed’s Response to Marijuana Legalization

As Colorado awaits the new marijuana legalization regulations, state officials worry about the feds cracking down.

A Colorado official who has had conversations with federal officials who have been offering hints for how Colorado can avoid being targeted for a federal crackdown. A few factors the feds are likely to look at are if Colorado develops comprehensive, enforceable laws for the forthcoming legalized marijuana industry, and whether the state can keep Colorado-grown marijuana within its borders, as well as if the state can keep marijuana out of the hands of minors.

The federal government could move to squash Colorado’s legalized marijuana program before it even gets going. The feds are in a predicament: Colorado voted to legalize possession and sale of marijuana last November, although all marijuana possession, use, and distribution remain illegal under the federal law.

Proper regulation of legalized marijuana in Colorado might be the only thing keeping Colorado from being thrown off the tightrope by the feds. Only time will tell what the feds will do.