President Obama won't go after Washington or Colorado for making pot legal.
In an interview with Barbara Walters to air Friday night on ABC, Obama said his administration has "bigger fish to fry" than to take on the two states, where voters made possession of small amounts of pot leg in November.
Since then, the federal government's reaction to the two states' new lawas, which contradict federal drug laws, has been a mystery. The Justice Department has issued statements to say that federal law still makes pot illegal.
But Obama told Walters he won't take on the states.
"We've got bigger fish to fry," Obama said.
"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," he said.
ABC notes that the same approach the feds have taken to the 18 states, including Washington, where medical use of marijuana is legal.
Obama says that "it does not make sense from a prioritization point of view" to focus on drug use in states where it is now legal.
Still, Obama says he "won't go that far" when asked whether he supports making marijuana legal.
But he acknowledged to Walters that public opinion -- which shows a growing number of voters want pot legal -- and limited resources to fight illegal drugs likely means a new approach is needed.
He said he has asked the Justice Department to review the conflict of federal and state pot laws.
In April, Obama explained his administration's approach to medical pot this way in an interview with Rolling Stone:
"Here's what's up: What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana. I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana – and the reason is, because it's against federal law. I can't nullify congressional law. I can't ask the Justice Department to say, 'Ignore completely a federal law that's on the books.' What I can say is,'Use your prosecutorial discretion and properly prioritize your resources to go after things that are really doing folks damage.' As a consequence, there haven't been prosecutions of users of marijuana for medical purposes."
In an interview with Barbara Walters to air Friday night on ABC, Obama said his administration has "bigger fish to fry" than to take on the two states, where voters made possession of small amounts of pot leg in November.
Since then, the federal government's reaction to the two states' new lawas, which contradict federal drug laws, has been a mystery. The Justice Department has issued statements to say that federal law still makes pot illegal.
But Obama told Walters he won't take on the states.
"We've got bigger fish to fry," Obama said.
"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," he said.
ABC notes that the same approach the feds have taken to the 18 states, including Washington, where medical use of marijuana is legal.
Obama says that "it does not make sense from a prioritization point of view" to focus on drug use in states where it is now legal.
Still, Obama says he "won't go that far" when asked whether he supports making marijuana legal.
But he acknowledged to Walters that public opinion -- which shows a growing number of voters want pot legal -- and limited resources to fight illegal drugs likely means a new approach is needed.
He said he has asked the Justice Department to review the conflict of federal and state pot laws.
In April, Obama explained his administration's approach to medical pot this way in an interview with Rolling Stone:
"Here's what's up: What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana. I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana – and the reason is, because it's against federal law. I can't nullify congressional law. I can't ask the Justice Department to say, 'Ignore completely a federal law that's on the books.' What I can say is,'Use your prosecutorial discretion and properly prioritize your resources to go after things that are really doing folks damage.' As a consequence, there haven't been prosecutions of users of marijuana for medical purposes."