DENVER (AP) -- The U.S. Attorney for Colorado has issued a brief statement saying the Justice Department is reviewing an initiative approved by voters to legalize and regulate the use of marijuana.
U.S. Attorney John Walsh issued the statement after Colorado Attorney General John Suthers asked federal officials whether they plan to prosecute Coloradans who use marijuana.
Suthers also cautioned that marijuana use is still illegal under federal law.
He said he would help state officials implement the new measure but repeated his belief that legalizing marijuana on the state level "is very bad public policy."
The voter-approved amendment directs state lawmakers to tax the drug up to 15 percent, with the first $40 million going to school construction.
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