Drug czar: Feds may fight pot legalization vote

Kerlikowske says Obama administration eyeing "all options," including court action to strike down California vote

Published October 20, 2010 3:50PM (EDT)

President Barack Obama's drug czar says federal officials haven't ruled out taking legal action if California voters pass a ballot initiative to legalize recreational medical use.

Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske (kur-lih-KOW'-skee) is in Southern California on Wednesday for a visit to a drug treatment center. He plans to discuss new government data on marijuana abuse in the state.

His trip follows Attorney General Eric Holder's announcement last week that the federal government plans to aggressively enforce anti-drug laws despite any state law.

Kerlikowske tells The Associated Press that the Justice Department is "looking at all their options," including going to court to get the state measure struck down.


By Associated Press

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