
A group of sheriffs will file a lawsuit Thursday against Colorado for its legal marijuana law.
The lawsuit says legalizing pot on a state level while it’s still illegal on a federal one creates a “crisis of conscience,” USA Today reports.
Colorado is “asking every peace officer to violate their oath,” Larimer County, Colo., Sheriff Justin Smith, the lead plaintiff in the suit, said. “What we’re being forced to do … makes me ineligible for office. Which constitution are we supposed to uphold?”
There’s also an economic aspect of the suit. The sheriffs from Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska say the overflow of legal pot from Colorado into other states has cost neighboring states money in police overtime due to the higher levels of drug arrests.
Recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado on January 1, 2014.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- 11 New Books to Read in February
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Cecily Strong on Goober the Clown
- Column: The Rise of America’s Broligarchy
- Introducing the 2025 Closers
Write to Tessa Berenson Rogers at tessa.Rogers@time.com