​CannaCare, a medical marijuana activist group in Washington state, is calling Governor Chris Gregoire “a liar” for claiming state officials could be arrested by federal agents if she signs a bill that would legalize medical marijuana dispensaries in the state.

Gov. Gregoire told the Seattle Times, reacting to a medical marijuana dispensary bill currently in the Legislature, “In light of the Department of Justice’s guidance, it is clear that I cannot sign a bill that authorizes our state employees to license marijuana dispensaries when the department would prosecute those involved.” The governor, in effect, asked the federal government for permission to sign a bill in a state of which she is presumptively in charge. This pitiable attempt to gain cover for her own political cowardice is certainly contemptible enough on its own. But CannaCare , led by firebrand Steve Sarich, goes a little farther than that. “Governor Christine Gregoire is a liar!” the group headlines a press release. “Under most circumstances, this would be considered a pretty brash statement,” Sarich says in the release. “Frankly, if she wasn’t an attorney, and the former Attorney General of the State of Washington, it might very well be. The fact is that she was the Attorney General of a state that has had a medical marijuana law for over a decade and has had to grapple with state versus federal law issues on numerous occasions.” Gov. Gregoire told the, reacting to a medical marijuana dispensary bill currently in the Legislature, “In light of the Department of Justice’s guidance, it is clear that I cannot sign a bill that authorizes our state employees to license marijuana dispensaries when the department would prosecute those involved.”

“She can hardly claim ignorance of the federal statutes,” Sarich said.