The U.S. Supreme Court has given Colorado an extra month to respond to a lawsuit that claims the state is polluting its neighbors with marijuana.
Colorado had been due to file its response by Monday. The state now has until March 27 to file its response, according to a one-sentence order . No more details about the extension were available.
Nebraska and Oklahoma’s marijuana lawsuit
Follow The Cannabist on and
In what could be a history-making case, the states of Nebraska and Oklahoma . The suit seeks to overturn Colorado’s first-in-the-country regulations for recreational marijuana stores, arguing that the stores both violate federal law and have caused a flood of Colorado-grown marijuana into neighboring states. Nebraska and Oklahoma said their law enforcement budgets have been stretched thin trying to police the influx.
Because the lawsuit involves a dispute between states, it was filed directly to the Supreme Court, under what is known as
When the lawsuit was filed late last year, Colorado attorney general John Suthers vowed to defend Colorado’s law vigorously, arguing that Nebraska and Oklahoma’s complaint “stems from non-enforcement of federal laws regarding marijuana, as opposed to choices made by the voters of Colorado.” Suthers has since left office due to term limits. Newly elected Attorney General Cynthia Coffman she will also fight the lawsuit.
A spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office did not immediately have a comment on the extension when reached Monday morning.
Unlike other lawsuits, the first step for Nebraska and Oklahoma’s case is to get the Supreme Court to agree to hear it. After Colorado files its response, it is expected an attorney for the federal government will be given a chance to weigh in.
If the Supreme Court does agree to hear the case, it could take years to resolve.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johningold
The post appeared first on .
