By Michael Riley, The Denver Post
Source: Denver Post

Washington, D.C. -- Rep. Jared Polis on Thursday quizzed Attorney General Eric Holder about federal enforcement of marijuana laws in states such as Colorado, which have approved it for medical use and are seeing a growing number of dispensaries.

In his first appearance as a new member of the House Judiciary Committee, the Boulder Democrat, who recently held a "coffee with your congressman" event at a coffee shop adjoining a dispensary in Nederland, quizzed Holder about comments from a federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent suggesting the Justice Department was planning to raid dispensaries in Colorado.

Not so, Holder said, citing higher enforcement priorities and pointing to a directive by the deputy attorney general outlining the specific criteria under which the feds would take an interest in shutting down dispensaries operating legally under state law.

"There are a variety of factors that are contained within the memo . . . that United States attorneys and assistant United States attorneys are supposed to apply, supposed to consider, when trying to make the determination about whether or not federal resources are going to be used to go after somebody who is dealing in marijuana," he said.

Polis seemed satisfied with the answer.

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Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_15083005

Source: Denver Post (CO)
Author: Michael Riley, The Denver Post
Published: May 14, 2010
Copyright: 2010 The Denver Post Corp
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