nov 14 2012151 lighting up a joint could become the newest tourist draw for colorado and washington which recently passed laws making pot smoking legal and where pot smokers have already been taking advantage of lax laws in some towns in washington seattle residents voted in 2003 to make police enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest priority for the citys police department which has helped the propot festival hempfest an annual celebration of marijuana according to yvonne snyder a longtime volunteer at hempfest were anticipating there will be more people many people who smoke pot arent public about it so people may feel freer coming here snyder said in colorado the ski resort town of breckenridge passed a law in 2009 allowing residents to possess and smoke marijuana the city of amsterdam in holland offers an example of how having pot treated largely as a legal substance is a draw for some travelers now that both washington and colorado have passed statewide measures decriminalizing marijuana possession it remains to be seen whether they will see a boost in potenhanced vacations but possessing and selling marijuana are still against the federal uniform controlled substances act a fact which tourism industry insiders and law experts say should be watched closely before any travel plans are made at this point questions about regulation and enforcement of amendment 64 still abound and it will not be part of our immediate marketing strategy said richard scharf president and ceo of visit denver until the us department of justice announces how it will handle marijuana cases in the two states travelers may not find what theyre looking for as far as ski resorts here in colorado people are just waiting to see how this is going to play out said jennifer rudolph spokeswoman for colorado ski country usa a trade association for ski resorts near denver theres just too many unknowns were waiting to see what the federal government is going to do if the local governments have any say in how it is implemented and any new laws that might come up in between she said in response to the passing of the state laws the federal government could sue colorado and washington forcing the issue of whether states laws can counter federal laws they could also choose to press criminal charges against anyone who has marijuana or is growing selling or distributing the drug according to richard collins law professor at the university of colorado boulder if the federal government decided to pursue criminal charges any tourists visiting colorados ski slopes or washingtons hempfest for instance could be ticketed or charged it could also ban the resorts and businesses from selling pot to visitors collins said that potential growers or business owners in colorado wont start making plans to manufacture or sell pot until they know whether the federal government will prosecute them for doing so the feds undoubtedly have authority to shut down any institution like a selling shop and could take