Marijuana-Friendly States Team up on Capitol Hill

Members of Congress from states with legal pot are banding together to tell their colleagues on Capitol Hill not to interfere with state drug laws.

Voters in the Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia approved ballot initiatives last week that legalize marijuana possession.

Those places would join Colorado and Washington state, which already have legal pot. Drug-policy activists are expected to push legalization initiatives in other states including California in 2016.

Democrats from Colorado, Oregon and the District will join Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California for a news conference on Thursday to highlight changing attitudes about pot and the potential for more states to make it legal. They’ll also discuss how they think Congress should – or shouldn’t – weigh in on state drug policy.