Last Thursday, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Attorney General Cynthia Coffman boldly defended their state’s stance on legalization. Their letter, penned to US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, addresses erroneous facts presented by the federal government and insists that “Colorado’s system has become a model for other states and nations.” [tweet this] What triggered this statement? The conversation between the two has been heating up since last April. Anticipating policy changes in a new administration, Hickenlooper (along with governors from Alaska, Oregon and Washington) signed a letter asking Sessions to engage in a conversation before acting on anything. Sessions responded, urging Colorado to address issues stemming from legalization – namely, statistics showing a higher marijuana use by young people, and higher cannabis-related traffic fatalities. These statistics have been widely considered to be biased and false, so Hickenlooper had to respond. So…this is like a political rap battle? Kind of, yeah. And like any good rap battle, it’s all about getting respect. Colorado has positioned itself as the standard-bearer for legalization, so any missteps could have major consequences for the movement. Considering the current administration’s outspoken stance against legalization, activists worry that any negative news can lead to a strict enforcement of federal law. Colorado has to continuously work hard to get the respect of the federal government. By firmly addressing misinformation and showing the system works, Hickenlooper just dropped the .