Lawsuit shows resistance to legalization of pot

DENVER (AP) — Despite growing public support for legalizing marijuana, a lawsuit filed by Nebraska and Oklahoma shows that at least two segments of American society are prepared to fight the idea before the nation's highest court — social conservatives and law enforcement.

The lawsuit seeks to overturn Colorado's experiment in legalized recreational pot, alleging that the two conservative states are being overrun with Colorado marijuana that is making it harder for them to enforce their own drug laws.

Nebraska Attorney General Jim Bruning framed it as a public-safety issue, though the complaint provides little data to support its claim that Colorado pot is pouring into neighboring states.

The case emerges at a time when polls show growing public support for legal weed. Even Congress this week started to ease restrictions on the drug, barring the federal government from interfering with the 23 states that allow it for medical uses.

National law-enforcement groups have staunchly opposed the legalization of marijuana. The lawsuit filed to the U.S. Supreme Court cheered some police in Colorado who have been frustrated at the public's wide acceptance of that state's recreational marijuana market, despite some examples of people overdosing on high-concentration edibles.