The state governments of Nebraska and Oklahoma filed a lawsuit Thursday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to end marijuana legalization in neighboring Colorado.

The Supreme Court has "original jurisdiction" in legal disputes between states, meaning it may be the first - and last - stop for the lawsuit. Since 1960, the court has received fewer than 140 requests to take original cases, and has refused to hear about half of them.

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, both Republicans, say in their filing that Colorado’s law violates the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 as well as international treaties, and that their states are suffering from nearby pot sales.

The Controlled Substances Act classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, making it illegal for either recreational or medical use. Despite the classification, the Department of Justice has allowed nearly two dozen states to set up medical marijuana programs.

In August 2013, the Justice Department said it would tolerate marketplaces for recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington – where voters in both states embraced legalization in November 2012 – as long as tightly regulated markets do not trigger certain enforcement priorities.

Bruning and Pruitt say Colorado clearly is violating federal law, and that aboveboard marijuana businesses are engaging in criminal conspiracies. The Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, their filing says, binds Colorado to follow the federal drug law.

“The Constitution and the federal anti-drug laws do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local pro-drug policies and licensed distribution schemes throughout the country which conflict with federal laws,” the filing says.

Bruning announced the legal offensive at a Thursday afternoon press conference. “Colorado has undermined the United States Constitution," he said in a statement, "and I hope the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold our constitutional principles.” His office is directing questions to Pruitt’s office.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, a Republican, said in a statement that “this suit is without merit, and we will vigorously defend against it in the U.S. Supreme Court.”

The nation’s first recreational marijuana stores opened Jan. 1 in Colorado. Stores opened in Washington state in July. Since then, residents of Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia have voted to follow suit.

Marijuana’s classification under the Controlled Substances Act can be changed administratively, but President Barack Obama has thus far resisted calls to order its reclassification without legislation. In Congress, bills are pending to lower the drug's rank. For example, Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., is sponsoring legislation to allow the drug to be stocked at local pharmacies and be covered by insurance.

Most national polls show majority support for outright legalization of marijuana. Polls show even greater support for medical marijuana, which also violates the Controlled Substances Act. In a recent breakthrough for marijuana reformers, Congress this month banned federal prosecutors and the Drug Enforcement Administration from going after state medical pot programs.

Partisans in the marijuana policy debate quickly released statements on the lawsuit from Nebraska and Oklahoma.

"This is a classic case of a solution in search of a problem," said Mason Tvert, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project.

"They are wasting Nebraska and Oklahoma taxpayers’ dollars by filing this suit, and they’re forcing Coloradans to pick up the bill for defending ourselves against it," said Tvert, who helped lead the Colorado legalization campaign. "These guys are on the wrong side of history. They will be remembered similarly to how we think of state officials who fought to maintain alcohol prohibition years after other states ended it."

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Leading anti-legalization advocate Kevin Sabet, meanwhile, endorsed the lawsuit.