Colorado district attorneys are not known for advocating in favor of legal marijuana — quite the opposite, in fact. So it’s a credit to those DAs who’ve announced they will not prosecute adults over 21 who’ve been charged with possessing small amounts of marijuana now that Amendment 64 has passed.

We hope other DAs step forward in the coming days to take a similar stand — and that those who’ve announced they will continue prosecuting marijuana cases will reconsider that course.

Amendment 64 — which won’t be the law of Colorado until 30 days after ballots are certified, meaning toward the end of the year — doesn’t of course apply retroactively. But it hardly seems fair to prosecute people for an offense that a majority of Coloradans have declared should not be on the books at all.

Nothing so undermines respect for the legal system as the belief that laws are enforced selectively. Yet what could possibly appear more selective — and petty, to be perfectly blunt — than prosecuting and convicting someone for conduct that is illegal one day and legal the next?

Boulder County DA Stan Garnett was the first out of the blocks in announcing that he would not prosecute such cases, but he was followed by Denver’s Mitch Morrissey, who has been vocal in the past about his opposition to marijuana legalization.

Morrissey and City Attorney Doug Friednash say they will no longer charge someone over 21 for possessing less than 1 ounce of marijuana and will review existing cases for possible dismissal.

Those already charged will have to show up in court, however.

Some critics undoubtedly will say “it’s about time” regarding Denver’s decision. After all, Denver was the first major city in the U.S. to legalize adult possession of pot, in 2005. And voters reiterated that desire in 2007 by passing a measure urging marijuana cases to be the “lowest law enforcement priority” — all to no avail. Pot cases still were prosecuted, but under state law.

Now that voters have spoken on state law, too, no further excuse for prosecution remains.

Still, we’re disappointed that a number of DAs, such as in Jefferson and Weld counties, have indicated they will carry on as before for the time being. Every single person who is prosecuted in the wake of Tuesday’s election results will consider their punishment a travesty, and so will a large share of the populace. Why poke a majority of voters in the eye?

Weld County DA Ken Buck issued a statement saying that his office “prosecutes low-level possession cases to get drug users help with their addictions.” And while it is obviously commendable to get people into treatment who need it, a higher priority surely should be deferring to the wishes of voters — even in advance of Amendment 64’s official starting date.