Federal Marijuana Laws Will Prevail Over States, Insists Drug Czar

The Congressional Research Service disagrees

President Barack Obama's drug czar toed a strict line on marijuana Wednesday, saying federal laws will prevail regardless of state-level efforts to legalize pot.

Gil Kerlikowske said enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 — which ranks marijuana as a Schedule One drug alongside heroin, LSD and ecstasy — remains in the hands of the US Department of Justice.

"No state, no executive can nullify a statute that has been passed by Congress," the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy told a National Press Club luncheon.

"Let's be clear: law enforcement officers take an oath of office to uphold federal law and they are going to continue to pursue drug traffickers and drug dealers," he said.