Today, the Dept. of Justice finally announced its first official response to the dramatic changes underway at the state level with respect to legalizing marijuana.

As a matter of law, a direct legal challenge to the state initiatives approved by voters in Colorado and Washington would have failed. A basic principle of constitutional law is that the federal government cannot “commandeer” the state legislatures and tell them what laws they should pass and what laws they can repeal. The state laws that legalize marijuana are not obstructing the FBI or DEA from enforcing federal law – and that’s the key test.

As a matter of policy, if the Obama administration is not yet ready to admit that the drug war is a failed policy, it should at least respect the prerogatives of the states that are choosing to legalize marijuana in their respective jurisdictions. Today’s announcement is an important step in that direction.