Sheriffs Try to Overturn Legalization of Pot in Colorado

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.