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| Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington |
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Gov. Jay Inslee said his conversation Tuesday with U.S.
Attorney General Eric Holder convinced him Washington state should
continue making rules for a legal marijuana industry as mandated by
voter-approved Initiative 502.
Inslee and state Attorney General Bob Ferguson met with Holder
because of the conflict between federal law, which bans all marijuana,
and the state’s law, which makes possession of an ounce of pot legal for
those 21 and older.
Inslee said the 45-minute conversation was “very satisfying” and a
“confidence-builder” about the state’s ability to move forward
implementing legal marijuana. “We went in thinking we should continue
with rule-making and nothing I heard should dissuade us,” Inslee said.
At the same time, he stressed that Holder said nothing about the
federal government’s intentions and whether it would crack down on
Washington state or look the other way.
Inslee said he did not press Holder for a clearer signal, or
position, because he considered their talk a preliminary meeting, with
more discussions to follow.
Noting that the state is moving ahead with rule-making, Ferguson said
he emphasized that the state would like answers soon. “We made it very
clear that while we’re moving forward, some deadlines are coming up
soon. I think Attorney General Holder understood that we’d need guidance
in months to come,” Ferguson said.
Inslee said several times the state would provide Holder with details
about how it would prevent its legal marijuana from leaking into other
states.
“We spent some time talking about how the initiative would work, how
the regulatory process would work. He listened with great interest, and I
appreciated that,” Inslee said.
The law will be implemented by the state’s Liquor Control Board,
which on Tuesday held the first of six meetings planned to take public
comment about the law. The second meeting will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at
Seattle City Hall.
The governor added that Holder’s questions show he is “going to be
fully attentive” to Washington’s evolving law. Inslee said it’s no
surprise that Holder would take his time to fully evaluate the
implementation of I-502.
In case the federal government decides to oppose the law, Ferguson
has a team of lawyers in his office preparing to make the best legal
case for upholding I-502.
“I said we want to avoid a legal fight,” Ferguson recounted during a
news conference after the meeting with Holder. “We want to find a
pathway forward. But if it comes to it, the Washington Attorney
General’s Office will be prepared for a legal fight.”
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| Eric Holder, Attorney General | |
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President Obama has said recreational pot smoking in Colorado and
Washington, the two states that have legalized it, is not a major
concern for his administration.
“We’ve got bigger fish to fry,” Obama said in an interview with ABC
News last month. “It would not make sense for us to see a top priority
as going after recreational users in states that have determined that
it’s legal.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C.,
circuit ruled Tuesday that medical marijuana should not be reclassified
from its status as a federal Schedule I dangerous drug with no medical
value.
In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court agreed with the government’s
contention that adequate and well-controlled studies on marijuana’s
medical qualities do not exist.
Advocates disagree and vowed to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com
Inslee encouraged by marijuana talk with Attorney General Holder