DENVER – When a White House spokesman this week said the Department of Justice likely would step up enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states where recreational pot is legal, Coloradans took note.

Many Colorado lawmakers say that would be an infringement on states’ rights, but most were more concerned with the connection White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer drew between recreational marijuana and the nation’s growing opioid crisis.

“I think there was definitely a disconnect there,” said state Sen. Tim Neville, R-Littleton.

Multiple news outlets, including CNN and Forbes, have pointed out since Spicer’s remarks that states where medical marijuana is legal have lower numbers of opioid-related deaths.

A study led by John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health points to the drop off being as high as 25 percent in states where medical marijuana is legal. It is attributed to the use of medical marijuana for treatment of chronic pain instead of opioid-based medications.

Steven Fenster, associate professor of biology at Fort Lewis College, said connecting marijuana usage and opioid addiction is a stretch, as the two substances interact with brains in different ways.

“The scientific evidence does not support that,” Fenster said.

Sen. Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge, said prescription practices with opioids and drug addiction are directly connected, and marijuana does not act as a gateway.

“I think the thing that leads to other drugs is you have doctors prescribing large quantities of opioids after surgery or dental work, when they don’t need a 30-day, or 60-day, or 90-day supply. They really could have had a five-day supply,” Jahn said.

Fenster also pointed to the increased access to opioid medications as the driving factor behind the nationwide uptick in addiction.

Scott Chipman, southern California chairman for Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana, said he was encouraged by the White House statement because it shows that the new administration takes seriously the impacts of marijuana, which he sees as a gateway drug.

Chipman said his organization’s concerns are centered around the social impacts of marijuana use, and it hopes the Trump administration will use its authority to crackdown on the growing industry.

He added that he hopes the coming years will provide an opportunity for the nation to ask why “so many Americans are choosing to live in a way that is impairing their brain?”

Sen. Vicki Marble, R-Fort Collins, said she believes there is a connection between pot and drug problems. It has nothing to do with the smoking of marijuana, but the restrictions on where it can be smoked.

“What I fear is that if we keep promoting marijuana in the state and not giving these people a safe place to go, they’re gonna find those underground outlets and that is where you run into more of the illicit drugs and drug problems,” she said.

Marble is sponsoring Senate Bill 63, which would license marijuana clubs and allow local jurisdictions to decide if they were right for their areas in an effort to remedy that problem.

Fenster said there is evidence of marijuana having addictive qualities, but not on par with opioid-based medications. But there is a lack of quality studies on the effects of marijuana because of its status as a Schedule 1 drug by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

In response to Spicer’s remarks, Sen. Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, released a statement Thursday asking his colleagues to stand together against what could be an upcoming attack on states’ rights.

Fenberg doubled down on his criticism of the White House’s statements, which he see as being at odds with campaign promises from Trump.

“I think that it’s frankly hypocritical. I think the administration has shown that they support states’ rights when it is ideologically convenient for them,” Fenberg said.

Republicans involved in marijuana legislation this session don’t give the comments from Spicer much credence.

“My gut reaction is, I listen to what the president said when he was on the campaign trail, and I believe he’s probably going to stick to that logic that this is a state issue,” Neville said.

Marble said the statements are not affecting business at the Capitol.

“No Republican has pulled their bill because of what Spicer said, so I think maybe that can answer your question,” she said.

Jahn said she agreed with Fenberg that Spicer’s statements seem at odds with the message of states’ rights, but doesn’t see it changing the operations of the marijuana industry in Colorado.

“I don’t think it’s really going to hamper, slowdown or change the minds of anybody,” Jahn said.

The general consensus around the Capitol is that Amendment 64, which legalized retail sales of marijuana in Colorado, is the law of the land and would be protected by elected officials.

Rep. Marc Catlin, R-Montrose, said he is not in favor of marijuana but understands the importance of the industry to the state’s economy.

“It’s a big business here in the state of Colorado now, and there are a lot of things that are geared off of it,” Catlin said.

Marble voted against Amendment 64, too, but now thinks perhaps that was a mistake, she said. “I think I might have voted wrong on that issue, but I’m glad the people took it upon themselves to make a huge decision, and I think they did the right thing.”

lperkins@durangoherald.com