LOS ANGELES — The nation’s top federal law enforcement official said the Obama administration would “vigorously enforce” drug laws against people who grow, distribute or sell marijuana for recreational use even if California voters pass a measure to legalize it.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, in a letter sent Wednesday to nine former chiefs of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, wrote: “Let me state clearly that the Department of Justice strongly opposes Proposition 19. If passed, this legislation will greatly complicate federal drug enforcement efforts to the detriment of our citizens.”
The initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot would allow Californians 21 and older to grow up to 25 square feet and possess up to an ounce of marijuana. It also allows cities and counties to authorize cultivation and sales. Several cities appear poised to do so if the law passes.
Holder’s letter was made public Friday.
Possession and sales of marijuana are illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act. In his letter, Holder wrote: “We will vigorously enforce the CSA against those individuals and organizations that possess, manufacture or distribute marijuana for recreational use, even if such activities are permitted under state law.”
Dale Sky Jones, a spokeswoman for the Proposition 19 campaign, said the federal government is continuing to enforce “a failed policy.”
Medical-marijuana users and experts were skeptical, saying there was little the federal government could do to slow the march to legalization.
“This will be the new industry,” said Chris Nelson, 24, who smokes pot to ease recurring back pain and was lined up outside a San Francisco dispensary. “It’s taxable new income. So many tourists will flock here like they go to Napa. This will become the new Amsterdam.”
President Barack Obama has said he is opposed to legalizing marijuana, but his administration has ended prosecutions of medical-marijuana collectives and patients that abide by state laws, in effect ignoring the Controlled Substances Act.
California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana, in 1996, and agents from the DEA targeted the state’s dispensaries and collectives for years.
They have continued to bust large-scale growers.
Californians are split on the issue. Polls have consistently shown that marijuana legalization is supported by about half of the state’s electorate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
