{"id":7018,"date":"2016-12-02T17:21:38","date_gmt":"2016-12-02T17:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/?p=5495"},"modified":"2016-12-02T17:21:38","modified_gmt":"2016-12-02T17:21:38","slug":"what-jeff-sessions-could-mean-for-legal-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/what-jeff-sessions-could-mean-for-legal-marijuana\/","title":{"rendered":"What Jeff Sessions Could Mean For Legal Marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/what-jeff-sessions-could-mean-for-legal-marijuana\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p>President-elect Donald J. Trump\u2019s choice to lead the Justice Department has roiled California\u2019s emerging marijuana industry.<\/p>\n<p>Just as supporters of marijuana legalization were celebrating voters\u2019 approval of the recreational use of the drug in the state, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama entered the picture as Mr. Trump\u2019s choice for attorney general.<\/p>\n<p>Cannabis is illegal under federal law, and if Mr. Sessions were to be confirmed, many supporters of legalization worry that his past remarks about marijuana could portend a crackdown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need grown-ups in charge in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized,\u201d Mr. Sessions said at a Senate hearing in April.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Fuller, our San Francisco bureau chief, wrote on Monday about the fragility of the truce that has existed between the federal government and states that have legalized the drug.<\/p>\n<p>So, what are we to make of Mr. Sessions?<\/p>\n<p>We asked John Hudak at the Brookings Institution to help explain. Mr. Hudak\u2019s research has focused on state and federal marijuana policy. His book, \u201cMarijuana: A Short History,\u201d was published in October.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 How worried should California\u2019s emerging marijuana industry be about Mr. Sessions?<\/p>\n<p>As attorney general, Sessions would have the ability to rescind two Justice Department directives &#8211; known as the Cole and Ogden memos &#8211; that called for stepping back from marijuana prosecutions. He could also use federal law enforcement power against operators and sue state regulators to block state systems. The only person who can stop the attorney general is the president, and it is unclear whether Trump will direct or delegate drug policy &#8211; the latter option being what should worry California the most.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 What\u2019s your read on Mr. Trump\u2019s posture toward states with legal marijuana?<\/p>\n<p>Trump has made statements that seem supportive of states\u2019 rights around marijuana and made others that are unclear. It is also unclear whether this is a policy he will direct from the White House or just let his attorney general steer this ship. It all means, pot policy in the U.S. is up in the air.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 What might a marijuana crackdown in California look like?<\/p>\n<p>First, the Justice Department would likely sue the state to prevent the enforcing of Prop 64. They could use other law enforcement entities &#8211; outside of the Drug Enforcement Administration &#8211; to begin physical crackdowns on existing operators. The law enforcement efforts would be expensive. The litigation approach might be cheaper and easier &#8211; if less effective.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 What does all this mean for the individual consumer?<\/p>\n<p>It would be nearly impossible for federal officials to arrest every marijuana consumer in California (or elsewhere), but if the Trump administration strikes at the heart of the industry &#8211; shutting down the supply chain &#8211; it would drive producers underground and consumers back to the black market.<\/p>\n<p> <img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/what-jeff-sessions-could-mean-for-legal-marijuana.PNG\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\"> <\/p>\n<p>News Moderator: Katelyn Baker <a href=\"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\" target=\"_blank\">420 MAGAZINE \u00ae<\/a><br \/>\nFull Article: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/11\/22\/us\/california-today-jeff-sessions-marijuana.html?_r=0\" target=\"_blank\">What Jeff Sessions Could Mean For Legal Marijuana<\/a><br \/>\nAuthor: Mike McPhate<br \/>\nContact: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/content\/help\/contact\/directory.html\" target=\"_blank\">The New York Times<\/a><br \/>\nPhoto Credit: Jim Wilson<br \/>\nWebsite: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/?action=click&amp;contentCollection=U.S.&amp;region=TopBar&amp;module=HomePage-Title&amp;pgtype=article\" target=\"_blank\">The New York Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President-elect Donald J. Trump\u2019s choice to lead the Justice Department has roiled California\u2019s emerging marijuana industry.<br \/>\nJust as supporters of&#8230; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/2016\/11\/jeff-sessions-mean-legal-marijuana\/\" class=\"read-more\">[Read More]<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1597,9,1,3],"tags":[4165],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7018"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7018\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}