State's congressional leaders urge DOJ to respect pot law

WASHINGTON -- Seven members of Washington state's congressional delegation on Tuesday sent a letter urging the Department of Justice to respect the will of the state's voters regarding the legalization of marijuana.

The letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray and Democratic Reps. Adam Smith, Suzan DelBene, Denny Heck, Derek Kilmer and Jim McDermott.

“As DOJ considers its response to Washington and Colorado laws," the letter said, "we hope that you will exercise your significant discretionary authority by choosing not to pursue preemption of these laws, or prosecute our residents and state employees acting in compliance with these laws.

"We also urge DOJ to announce its decided course of action as soon as possible to provide legal certainty for our citizens, businesses, and lawmakers," it said.

The full text of the letter here.