Washington state moving on pot legalization after Holder meeting

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said his state will move forward with laws legalizing the recreational use of marijuana after a “very satisfying” meeting with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday.

“We went in thinking we should continue with rule-making and nothing I heard should dissuade us,” Inslee told the Seattle Times. Inslee added that the meeting was a “confidence builder” with regard to the state’s plans to implement the marijuana initiative voters approved last December.

Still, according to the Seattle Times report, Holder didn’t signal anything about how the federal government intends to react to the state’s new pot laws. Similar laws were also approved by voters in Colorado.

The states are concerned that they’ll commit the time and money required to conform to the new laws — building a new tax and regulatory structure, incorporating the sale of marijuana into commerce laws and training law enforcement officers to test the THC levels of drivers — only to have the Department of Justice (DOJ) continue its crackdown.

“We made it very clear that while we’re moving forward, some deadlines are coming up soon,” state Attorney General Bob Ferguson told the Seattle Times. “I think Attorney General Holder understood that we’d need guidance in months to come.”

Ferguson said the state “will be prepared for a legal fight” if the DOJ decides to enforce the federal ban on marijuana on the citizens of Washington.

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