Marijuana diversion

Troy A. Eid, a former U.S. attorney for Colorado, chairs the National Indian Law and Order Commission. He reports that Colorado's state sanctioned packaging of edible marijuana has had a devastating effect on Native American youth throughout the west.

Interestingly, though, he writes that the solution is for Congress to

Revise the U.S. Criminal Code to enable all states and Indian tribes to opt out of federal marijuana laws — essentially how alcohol prohibition ended during the New Deal in the 1930s — offers state and tribal voters a meaningful choice instead of the chaos that often reigns today. Only federally authorized decriminalization of marijuana that respects the prerogatives of states and tribes can ensure a concerted national enforcement strategy against marijuana diversion.

That same national approach, backed by strong federal enforcement in partnership with state, local and tribal law enforcement and prosecution, has largely eliminated alcohol bootlegging and the gangs that profited by it. Rigorous federal requirements for the testing, regulating, marketing and advertising of alcohol, with local licensing for sale and distribution, likewise provides vital safeguards against use and abuse by young people.

There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. Colorado's marijuana experiment is many things — a protest against Washington, D.C., a bow to Colorado's tradition of political independence — but it's also just plain self-centered. We all know it. The people in places like the Pine Ridge Reservation — experts in hearing broken promises from their neighbors — know it, too.

We're not fooling anyone. It's time for Congress to act.

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