U.S. Mayors to Obama: Quit Cracking Down on Marijuana

Cities in Colorado and Washington have been in a particularly awkward spot since last fall, when voters in those two states elected to legalize recreational marijuana. Local officials and city councils have been scurrying to figure out how to implement the new regulations (our favorite idea: Aurora, Colorado, actually considered becoming its own marijuana grower and dispensary). But all the while, the Obama Administration has remained coy about how far it will let local governments go in flouting federal law.

Now the U.S. Conference of Mayors is begging Obama to leave them alone. At their annual meeting taking place now in Las Vegas, the mayors – among them Republicans and Democrats – unanimously adopted a resolution arguing that "states and localities should be able to set whatever marijuana policies work best to improve the public safety and health of their communities." The mayors also came out for amending federal law to explicitly allow states to craft their own marijuana policy. And they're asking Obama in the meantime not to waste federal law enforcement resources trying to undermine the will of their voters.