Washington’s Double Failure: Failure of Department of Justice to Enforce Federal Law, Failure of Senate Judiciary Committee to Hold DOJ Accountable
The silence of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) following the passage of state – based legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington is unconscionable. These state laws are in direct conflict with long – established federal law and specific U.S. international treaty obligations. No nation in the world has legalized the production, distribution and possession of marijuana as have these two states. Despite its mandate to uphold the law of the land, the DOJ has failed to enforce federal law in CO or WA. On March 6, 2013 the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to hold DOJ accountable at an oversight hearing at which Attorney General Eric Holder testified. This hearing provided a unique opportunity for both Republican and Democratic Senators to insist that Attorney General Holder uphold federal law. Instead of seizing that opportunity, the subject was brushed aside by the Committee Chairman, and ignored by other Committee members.
