Chris Christie threatens marijuana crackdown: 'If you're getting high in Colorado today, enjoy it'

Despite previously championing states' rights, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) threatened on Tuesday to ignore the legalization of marijuana in Colorado if elected president, Bloomberg News reported.

"If you're getting high in Colorado today, enjoy it," Christie said during an event in Newport, New Hampshire. "As of January 2017, I will enforce the federal laws."

The remark follows a longstanding pledge by the governor to institute a federal crackdown against the drug. In April, he told CNN that he considered it a "gateway drug."

"If you want to change the marijuana laws, go ahead and change the national marijuana laws," he said on Tuesday.

However, his viewpoint on this issue runs counter to his statement in March that, "It was the states that created the federal government, not the federal government that created the states. We need to get back to that philosophy."

According to The Hill, Christie is currently in ninth place among Republican presidential contenders. If he maintains that position, it would make him eligible for an Aug. 6 debate featuring the top 10 candidates.

[h/t Gawker]