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Conflicts Between State and Federal Marijuana Laws S. HRG. 113–588 CONFLICTS BETWEEN STATE AND FEDERAL MARIJUANA LAWS HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2013 Serial No. J–113–28 Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 93–426 PDF WASHINGTON : 2015 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont, Chairman DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa, Ranking Member CHUCK SCHUMER, New York ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah DICK DURBIN, Illinois JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota JOHN CORNYN, Texas AL FRANKEN, Minnesota MICHAEL S. LEE, Utah CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware TED CRUZ, Texas RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut JEFF FLAKE, Arizona MAZIE HIRONO, Hawaii KRISTINE LUCIUS, Chief Counsel and Staff Director KOLAN DAVIS, Republican Chief Staff Director (II) C O N T E N T S STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS Page Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont .................... 1 prepared statement .......................................................................................... 37 Whitehouse, Hon. Sheldon, a U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island ...... 3 Grassley, Hon. Chuck, a U.S. Senator from the State of Iowa ............................ 4 prepared statement .......................................................................................... 32 WITNESSES Witness List ............................................................................................................. 31 Cole, Hon. James, Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC ................................................................................................... 6 prepared statement .......................................................................................... 39 Urquhart, Hon. John, Sheriff, King County Sheriff’s Office, Seattle, Wash- ington .................................................................................................................... 18 prepared statement .......................................................................................... 44 Finlaw, Jack, Chief Legal Counsel, Office of Governor John W. Hickenlooper, Denver, Colorado .................................................................................................. 20 prepared statement .......................................................................................... 46 Sabet, Kevin A., Ph.D., Director, University of Florida Drug Policy Institute, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Addiction Medicine; and Director, Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana), Cambridge, Massachusetts . 21 prepared statement .......................................................................................... 55 QUESTIONS Questions submitted by Senator Dianne Feinstein for James M. Cole ............... 66 Questions submitted by Senator Charles Grassley for James M. Cole ............... 72 Questions submitted by Senator Patrick Leahy for James M. Cole .................... 73 Questions submitted by Senator Al Franken for James M. Cole ........................ 75 Questions submitted by Senator Charles Grassley for John Urquhart .............. 76 Questions submitted by Senator Charles Grassley for Jack Finlaw ................... 77 Questions submitted by Senator Charles Grassley for Kevin Sabet ................... 78 ANSWERS Responses of James M. Cole to questions submitted by Senators Leahy, Grassley, and Feinstein ....................................................................................... 79 Responses of John Urquhart to questions submitted by Senator Franken ........ 106 Responses of John Urquhart to questions submitted by Senator Grassley ........ 108 Responses of Jack Finlaw to questions submitted by Senator Grassley ............. 110 Responses of Kevin Sabet to questions submitted by Senator Grassley ............. 112 MISCELLANEOUS SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder from Steven F. Lukan, Director, Iowa Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy .................................................. 114 (III) IV Page Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder from National Law Enforcement Organizations in Hennepin County, Minnesota; Hughes County, South Da- kota; Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies; International Association of Chiefs of Police; Police Executive Research Forum; and Na- tional Narcotic Associations’ Coalition ............................................................... 116 Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder from the Former Administrators of the Drug Enforcement Administration (1973–2007) ..................................... 119 Letter to Senator Leahy from Dennis J. Gallagher, City Auditor, Denver, Colorado ................................................................................................................ 121 Americans for Safe Access, ‘‘Three Areas of Inquiry for ‘Conflicts Between State and Federal Marijuana Laws’ ’’ ................................................................. 123 Tamar Todd, Senior Staff Attorney, Drug Policy Alliance, Office of Legal Affairs, statement ................................................................................................ 133 Governor Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Washington State, statement .............................................................................................................. 141 Letter to Senator Leahy from Mark A.R. Kleiman, Professor of Public Policy, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Los Angeles, California ...................... 145 Letter to Senator Leahy from Hon. Dana Rohrabacher, 49th District, Cali- fornia ..................................................................................................................... 151 Letter to Senator Leahy from We Can Do Better Coalition: Sue Rusche, National Families in Action; A. Thomas McLellan, Treatment Research Institute; Kevin Sabet, Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) ......... 152 Hon. Ed Perlmutter, 7th District, Colorado, statement ....................................... 157 Letter to Treasury Secretary Lew, Chairman Bernanke, Chairman Gruenberg, Comptroller Curry, Director Corday, and Chairman Matz from Hon. Ed Perlmutter, 7th District, Colorado, and Hon. Denny Heck, 10th District, Washington State .................................................................................. 159 Letter to Senator Leahy from Lori Augustyniak, Prevention Works! VT ........... 161 CONFLICTS BETWEEN STATE AND FEDERAL MARIJUANA LAWS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2013 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:45 p.m., in Room SH–216, Hart Senate Office Building, Hon. Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. Present: Senators Leahy, Whitehouse, Blumenthal, and Grassley. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. PATRICK J. LEAHY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF VERMONT Chairman LEAHY. I have mentioned to the witnesses the reason for the delay. It was because I was talking to Senator Grassley, who is going to be joining us shortly. He has been in a very impor- tant meeting with the President on the situation in Syria. The President met with the Senate Democrats earlier and now he is meeting with the Senate Republicans. It is a gravely serious mat- ter, as I am sure all of you know, and I mentioned this to Deputy Attorney General Cole earlier also. Today’s hearing also deals with a serious issue, and I trust that members of the public here will act accordingly. I want to note at the outset that the rules of the Senate prohibit outbursts, clapping, or demonstrations of any kind either for or against any position I might take or anybody else might take. That includes blocking the view of people around you. I am glad to have this hearing room where we can accommodate as many as we possibly can, and we have overflow rooms with a television. But please be mindful of the rules when we conduct these hearings, and, of course, the Capitol Police will be authorized to remove anyone who does not follow these rules. Now, last November, the people of Colorado and Washington voted to legalize the possession and use of small amounts of mari- juana and to regulate how marijuana is produced and distributed in their States. These new laws are just the latest examples of the growing tension between federal and State marijuana laws, and they underscore the persistent uncertainty about how such conflicts are going to be resolved. Should the Federal Government arrest and prosecute marijuana users in States where they might be in full compliance with State law? Or should the Federal Government take a completely hands- off approach and let drug laws and policy develop on a State-by- State basis? Or is there some middle-ground approach that con- siders both the national interests and the fundamental principles of federalism, including the rights of voters to decide what is best (1) 2 for their own individual States? So the Committee is going to hold the first congressional hearing on these issues since the new laws passed in Colorado and Washington, and it presents an important opportunity to hear from some of the people who
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