[megayields]

CHICAGO —
Eight former U.S. drug chiefs warned the federal government Tuesday that time is running out to nullify Colorado and Washington's new laws legalizing recreational marijuana use, and a United Nations agency also urged challenges to the measures it says violate international treaties.

The former Drug Enforcement Administration chiefs criticized Barack Obama's administration for moving too slowly to file a lawsuit that would force the states to rescind the legislation. Marijuana is illegal under federal law.

"My fear is that the Justice Department will do what they are doing now: do nothing and say nothing," former DEA administrator Peter Bensinger told The Associated Press in an interview Monday. "If they don't act now, these laws will be fully implemented in a matter of months."

Bensinger, who lives in the Chicago area, said if the federal government doesn't immediately sue the states it'll risk creating "a domino effect" in which other states legalize marijuana too.

The statement from the DEA chiefs came the same day the International Narcotics Control Board, a U.N. agency, made its appeal in an annual drug report, calling on federal officials to act to "ensure full compliance with the international drug control treaties on its entire territory."

But Brian Vicente, co-author of the Colorado pot legalization law, said a handful of North American countries have expressed support for legalization.

"You have two states revolting and they're saying it doesn't work in their state and their community and it sends a strong message globally," he said.

A lawyer who led Washington's legalization campaign said the focus should be on reconciling the Colorado and Washington votes with federal law and treaty obligations.

"Ultimately, we do need to see these laws and treaties change," Alison Holcomb said Tuesday. "We're not going to get resolution overnight."

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told a meeting of state attorneys general last week that he is still reviewing the laws but that his review is winding down. Asked Monday for a comment on the criticism from the former DEA administrators, Holder spokeswoman Allison Price would only say, "The Department of Justice is in the process of reviewing those initiatives."

The department's review has been under way since shortly after last fall's elections. It could sue to block the states from issuing licenses to marijuana growers, processors and retail stores, on the grounds that doing so conflicts with federal drug law. Alternatively, Holder could decide not to mount a court challenge.

The ex-DEA heads are issuing the statements through the Florida-based Save Our Society from Drugs. One of its spokesmen is based in Chicago.

The former DEA administrators are Bensinger, John Bartels, Robert Bonner, Thomas Constantine, Asa Hutchinson, John Lawn, Donnie Marshall and Francis Mullen. They served for both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Holder is scheduled to appear Wednesday before a U.S. Senate judiciary committee hearing. The former DEA chiefs want senators to question Holder on the legalization issue.

Advocates of legalization have welcomed Colorado and Washington's new laws, arguing that criminalizing drugs creates serious though unintended social problems. The ex-DEA heads say they disagree with that view.

After votes last fall, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize marijuana's recreational use - putting federal authorities in a quandary over how, or whether, to respond.

Washington state officials responsible for creating a regulated marijuana system have said they are moving forward with a timetable of issuing producer licenses by August.

Bensinger - who served as DEA administrator under Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan - said the supremacy of federal law over state law when it comes to drug laws isn't in doubt.

"This is a no-brainer," he said. "It is outrageous that a lawsuit hasn't been filed in federal court yet."

Advocates of less stringent drug laws criticized the ex-DEA heads later Tuesday.

Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, said the eight are destined to share the legacy of agents who enforced alcohol prohibition before that policy was deemed a failure and reversed in 1933.

"The former DEA chiefs' statement can best be seen as a self-interested plea to validate the costly and failed policies they championed but that Americans are now rejecting at the ballot box," Nadelmann said.

---

AP Writers P. Solomon Banda in Denver and Gene Johnson in Seattle also contributed to this report.

[OLDproLg]

Waaaaaaaaa!

Lets hope TIME RUNS OUT haaaaaaaaa!
good ol' rep boy's keep a pushin....huh?
One cops ounce said"its like tryin to stop a title WAVE" with 1 finger!!!
try try they will........................

[bigAl25]

dear ex DEA head, please burn in hell because that is where you belong. Peace and respect to all herb users.

[megayields]

lol yeah

[paperchaser825]

Ya a big fuck you to these people. Is it not common knowledge to these turds that the state has the right to do these things? I don't get it.

[Hydro-Soil]

Isn't this a repost?

Yep... Here it is.

Originally Posted by Hydro-Soil

Doesn't matter what they do.

Colorado put citizens first with Co64. Regardless of what the 'commercial' end turns out like or what the feds WANT to do... they're NOT going to be storming house to house in Colorado trying to eradicate every grow.

Local law enforcement will NOT help the feds with this, in most counties of this state. The Feds NEED local support, whether it's cops or socialist citizens with pine trees up their butt... they need the tips/info or they're dead in the water.

Now... what does this mean? This means that the people of colorado are going to slowly decline their alcohol consumption, Rx consumption, healthcare costs, cannabis costs, lack of jail/prison time messing with your life and so on... You cannot put a value on this it's priceless!

That information is going to travel to friends, family, strangers in other states. You cannot stop information when people can freely talk about it. The only thing that will slow this down is that people in other states are still 'afraid' to talk about it.

Fear chokes the flow of information and allows the huge mass of misinformation around cannabis to breed.

Talk. Teach. Share. Heal.

It will take time but this country is on it's way.

Stay Safe!

I still agree with it.

Stay Safe!

Oooooooooh.... Are they mad that the people might be able to pay their bills and stimulate the economy?
The U.N are slave masters over the poor.

[Bongstar420]

A challenge from the the Feds will only weaken their position. The Feds only have the authority to regulate interstate commerce or super dangerous stuff like grenade launchers or nukes. Is pot objectively more dangerous than many readily available things or activities-No. The Feds are guaranteed to loose on objective evidence. The UN is more like a club that we are in. Their standards are equally as vulnerable as the Fed's standards are in the USA but the UN cant do more than people are willing to let it. Plus, how is the UN going to enforce its standards? Is the UN going to send in troups that are going to cart people off to a international prison that is the size of 10-20% of the world population. Nonsense

[larry badiner]

could be a distraction or something either that or the us will criminalize mj in those states

[mwz]

Sounds like the ex dea heads are scared.