Supreme Court Turns Back Challenge To Marijuana Legalization Laws

Originally published at blog.NORML.org

Supreme Court justices today declined to consider a 2014 suit challenging the legality of Colorado’s regulations permitting the state-licensed production and retail sale of cannabis to adults.

Justices decided in a 6-2 vote to reject the lawsuit, filed by Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning and Oklahoma Attorney General E. Scott Pruitt, which sought to strike down Colorado’s law on the basis that it is “fundamentally at odds” with the federal Controlled Substances Act. A majority of the Court turned back the petition in an unsigned opinion, while Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.

The plaintiffs in the suit now say that they are contemplating filing a similar legal challenge in federal district court.

NORML Legal Counsel Keith Stroup previously described the lawsuit as “more political theater than a serious legal challenge.”