A coalition of law enforcement organizations assailed Attorney General Eric Holder, expressing “extreme disappointment” that the Department of Justice would allow Colorado and Washington to implement state laws that legalized recreational marijuana for adults, reports the Huffington Post. “It is unacceptable that the Department of Justice did not consult our organizations — whose members will be directly impacted — for meaningful input ahead of this important decision,” reads a letter from major groups “Our organizations were given notice just thirty minutes before the official announcement was made public and were not given the adequate forum ahead of time to express our concerns.”
The groups added that, “Simply ‘checking the box’ by alerting law enforcement officials right before a decision is announced is not enough and certainly does not show an understanding of the value the Federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partnerships bring to the Department of Justice and the public safety discussion.” The letter was signed by the Major County Sheriffs' Association, the National Sheriffs' Association, the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Narcotic Officers Associations' Coalition, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, and the Police Executive Research Forum.