Colorado and Washington's new marijuana laws might allow adults to use small amounts of the drug in the future, but what happens to anyone caught with pot in the past?
Well, apparently no one really knows, according to The New York Times' Jack Healy.
Authorities in Washington and Colorado are already in the midst of dropping hundreds of marijuana misdemeanor cases.
But a few conservative counties in Colorado are persisting in prosecuting anyone arrested before the state relaxed its weed laws.
“Our office has an obligation to prosecute offenses that were crimes at the time they occurred,” Ken Buck, district attorney for the conservative Weld County, told the Times.
But on the other hand, Aurora, Colo., Police Chief Daniel Oates has told his department to stop charging anyone older than 21 for small marijuana violations.
“This thing is evolving so quickly that I don’t know what’s going to happen next," Oates told Healy.
That same uncertainty is hitting Washington as well, which passed a law similar to Colorado's.
Washington's law, which goes into effect Dec. 6, leaves a year where no state licensing system exists but possession will still be legal.
Now check out just how much these changes will affect how the police work >
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