Obama: Feds will not go after states with legal pot
The president said, 'It does not make sense from a prioritization point of view' to focus on drug use in states where it is now legal.
President Barack Obama speaks at the Interior Department in Washington. The president has said he won't go after Washington state and Colorado for legalizing marijuana, in a Barbara Walters interview airing Friday on ABC.
Carolyn Kaster/AP/File
WASHINGTON
President Barack聽Obama聽says he won't go after Washington state and Colorado for legalizing聽marijuana.
In a Barbara Walters interview airing Friday on ABC,聽Obama聽is asked whether he supports making pot legal. He says, "I wouldn't go that far."
But the president won't pursue the issue in the states where voters in November legalized the use ofmarijuana.聽Marijuana聽remains illegal under federal law.
Obama聽says, "It does not make sense from a prioritization point of view" to focus on drug use in states where it is now legal.
Marijuana聽became legal in Washington state last week. It became legal in Colorado earlier this month.