Six Colorado sheriffs, including two from the Western Slope, have joined the Drug Free America Foundation’s lawsuit against Amendment 64, which legalized recreational marijuana in Colorado.

The goal of the lawsuit, according to Delta County Sheriff Fred McKee, is to force the U.S. Supreme Court to finally rule on whether states can defy federal law to legalize marijuana within their state borders.

“I believe the issue needs to be resolved,” Sheriff McKee said. “I think it needs to be debated in court by Constitutional attorneys.”

A similar lawsuit has been filed by county sheriffs and county attorneys from Kansas and Nebraska; it is backed by the Safe Streets Alliance.

The lawsuits argue that state legalization violates the Controlled Substances Act (which puts marijuana in the same Schedule I category as cocaine and heroin) and therefore also violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

“Because we are a republic, the CSA is appropriate because it was done under proper procedure.” McKee said. “I do not enforce federal law. I’m a career law enforcement officer, and down the years I’ve enforced a lot of laws that I didn’t agree with.”

Joining McKee in the lawsuit, from the Western Slope, is Hinsdale County Sheriff Ron Bruce, who said it was intentional that not every sheriff was asked to join the lawsuit.

Lessons learned from the lawsuit filed against Colorado’s gun control laws, which involved 55 sheriffs as plaintiffs, led to a decision to limit the number of plaintiffs in this suit.

“That was maybe overkill,” Sheriff Bruce said.

Amendment 64 created a conflict between the state constitution and the U.S. Constitution, according to Bruce.

“We’re simply looking for some guidance from the courts to tell which constitution to obey,” he said. “Sheriffs in Nebraska and Kansas are being impacted by people who buy marijuana in Colorado and transport it to their states.”

Bruce said he has instructed his officers to enforce only DUI and public consumption laws.

“We’re not fooling with anything else until we get a decision,” he said.

Another reason there aren’t as many Colorado sheriffs involved in the anti-pot lawsuit is that some refused to join it.

“I do know there are sheriffs who declined the opportunity,” Sheriff McKee said.

The other sheriffs who joined the lawsuit are Casey Sheridan of Kiowa County, Chad Day of Yuma County, Justin Smith of Larimer County and Shayne Heap of Elbert County.

The Nebraska/Kansas lawsuit will be heard by the Supreme Court, which is the only court that can rule on disputes between states.

Ron Bain is The Colorado Statesman’s Western Slope correspondent.