Workers trim marijuana plants at High Country Healing in Silverthorne in January 2015. (Helen H. Richardson, Denver Post file)

State lawmakers across U.S. tell feds to butt out on marijuana

A day after lawmakers expressed concern about the federal government’s looming role in regulating state marijuana policy, a bipartisan organization of state lawmakers approved a policy statement with a simple message to Washington: leave us alone.

The lawmakers — representing 49 states — passed the resolution at the National Conference of State Legislatures annual summit in Seattle with overwhelming support on a voice vote.

Though nonbinding, it is designed to send a message to Congress and the administration to let states such as Colorado and Washington craft their own laws when it comes to marijuana and hemp, rather than imposing federal law — which still considers marijuana use illegal.

The resolution approved Thursday suggests that federal law — particularly the Controlled Substances Act — should be amended to “explicitly allow states to set their own marijuana and hemp policies without federal interference and urges the administration not to undermine state marijuana and hemp policies.”

The NCSL summit of lawmakers showcased the growing movement at the state level to legalization of pot in some form, whether for medical or recreational use. The resolution was pushed by the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization organization that lobbied lawmakers at the conference.

This story was first published on The Spot blog.