U.S. marijuana friends and foes cautious
at signs of softer Trump
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[April 16, 2018]
By Jonathan Allen
(Reuters) - Both advocates and opponents of
legalized marijuana reacted with caution on Saturday to signs from the
White House that growers in U.S. states where the drug is permitted
would be shielded from federal prosecution, saying it was too early to
know the final impact.
U.S. Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado announced on Friday that he had
convinced U.S. President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, to protect
from federal interference those state laws that legalize marijuana for
certain uses.
Last year, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who opposes marijuana
use, rescinded a memo issued by Trump's Democratic predecessor, Barack
Obama, that dialed back enforcement of the federal ban in states that
legalized the drug. That decision unnerved the fast-growing U.S.
marijuana industry, which has been legalized in more than half of all
states.
"Trump's pledge to Gardner is a significant and potentially
game-changing development but it does not necessarily mean that Sessions
it no longer a threat to licensed cannabis businesses," Mike Liszewski,
a policy advisor at the pro-marijuana Drug Policy Alliance, said in a
statement. He said, however, that the agreement made it "even more
politically difficult for Sessions to initiate a crackdown."
He joined advocates on both sides saying it remained to be seen what
final legislation would look like. Gardner said on Friday Trump had
pledged to sign into law a bill that would codify states' rights to set
their own marijuana legislation.
Tom Angell, a founder of the Marijuana Majority, said he was equally
annoyed by those saying the announcement was a fait accompli and those
who dismissed it as empty.
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Marijuana flags are seen as protesters gather to smoke marijuana on
steps of the U.S. Capitol to tell Congress to "De-schedule Cannabis
Now" in Washington, U.S. April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
"The correct posture is: This is hugely positive, but it's going to
take focused, hard work and pressure to make sure words become
reality," Angell wrote on Twitter. "Let's make him do it."
Opponents of legalized marijuana have said federal oversight will be
necessary for at least as long as black markets exist. They also
note that some of the legal production ends up crossing state lines
anyway.
Jeff Hunt, director of the Colorado conservative think tank the
Centennial Institute, said Colorado law enforcement does not have
the resources to deal with marijuana regulation.
"The president is supporting the rights of Coloradans to make
decisions for themselves," Hunt said in a telephone interview. Hunt,
who critically compares the burgeoning marijuana industry to the
tobacco industry, said he believed Trump still backs federal
prosecution for "egregious violations of federal law when it comes
to recreational marijuana."
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Daniel Wallis and David
Gregorio)
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