Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
States with legal pot denounce federal marijuana crackdown [View all]
Source: Reuters
#POLITICS JANUARY 4, 2018 / 3:21 PM / UPDATED 11 MINUTES AGO
States with legal pot denounce federal marijuana crackdown
Chris Prentice
5 MIN READ
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawmakers in U.S. states that have legalized marijuana denounced a move by the Trump administration on Thursday to cancel a policy that kept federal prosecutors at bay from the fledgling cannabis industries and vowed to uphold their state laws.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Justice Department was rescinding an Obama-era policy that eased enforcement of federal marijuana laws amid a wave of legalization in states from Pennsylvania to Alaska. The shift came just three days after California launched the world’s largest regulated commercial market for recreational marijuana.
State officials said the move amounted to meddling in states’ affairs and ignored more pressing priorities like the opioid crisis.
It was not clear how the change might affect a burgeoning marijuana industry in the six states including California and Colorado that have legalized the drug for recreational use, plus dozens of others that permit medicinal use. The industry is forecast to reach nearly $23 billion in sales by 2021.
California’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, vowed to “vigorously enforce our state’s laws and protect our state’s interests.”
-snip-
States with legal pot denounce federal marijuana crackdown
Chris Prentice
5 MIN READ
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawmakers in U.S. states that have legalized marijuana denounced a move by the Trump administration on Thursday to cancel a policy that kept federal prosecutors at bay from the fledgling cannabis industries and vowed to uphold their state laws.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Justice Department was rescinding an Obama-era policy that eased enforcement of federal marijuana laws amid a wave of legalization in states from Pennsylvania to Alaska. The shift came just three days after California launched the world’s largest regulated commercial market for recreational marijuana.
State officials said the move amounted to meddling in states’ affairs and ignored more pressing priorities like the opioid crisis.
It was not clear how the change might affect a burgeoning marijuana industry in the six states including California and Colorado that have legalized the drug for recreational use, plus dozens of others that permit medicinal use. The industry is forecast to reach nearly $23 billion in sales by 2021.
California’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, vowed to “vigorously enforce our state’s laws and protect our state’s interests.”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-justice-marijuana-states/states-with-legal-pot-denounce-federal-marijuana-crackdown-idUSKBN1ET2CA
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read