Rep. Jared Polis: Would be very happy if Holder resigned

[RainDog]

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/08/15/democratic-rep-polis-would-be-very-happy-if-eric-holder-resigns

"I would be very happy to see him leave," Polis told The Coloradoan in an interview published Wednesday.

Polis offered four major reasons he has lost confidence in Holder, including: the Justice Department's pursuit of reporters during leak investigations; Holder's non-committal to respecting state marijuana legalization laws; his apparent approval of NSA surveillance; and the "abuse of prosecutorial discretion" by federal prosecutors.

Regarding Colorado's marijuana legalization law, which will usher in state-licensed recreational weed shops next year, Polis complained that "[e]very time we've talked to [Holder] about it — and I've talked to him many times about it — it's just kind of the typical attorney thing: no answer, just nothing, talk around it, not yes, not no."

Polis also requested that recreational cannabis stores in states that have made cannabis legal should be dealt with under terms of the Ogden Memo.

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/08/16/rep-jared-polis-apply-ogden-memo-to-recreational-marijuana-stores

Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., wants Attorney General Eric Holder to confirm that the federal approach to state-licensed recreational marijuana stores, set to open next year in Colorado and Washington state, will be similar to the Justice Department's approach to medical marijuana dispensaries.

"Stores are opening next year," Polis told U.S News. "We would like to have the clarification from the attorney general to make it clear that the Ogden memo also applies" to recreational marijuana stores.

The Ogden memo is a 2009 document written by then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden that says it wouldn't be an "efficient use" of federal resources to go after medical marijuana patients. It also said the Justice Department would primarily target dispensaries that commit other infractions, such as selling hard drugs, using guns or breaking state marijuana regulations.

Polis says the Justice Department has misled the states into believing a policy announcement was imminent for the past eight months.