{"id":7368,"date":"2017-04-27T22:18:55","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T22:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com?p=2630406&amp;preview_id=2630406"},"modified":"2017-04-27T22:18:55","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T22:18:55","slug":"after-meeting-with-sessions-colorado-gov-thinks-ag-unlikely-to-crack-down-on-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/after-meeting-with-sessions-colorado-gov-thinks-ag-unlikely-to-crack-down-on-marijuana\/","title":{"rendered":"After meeting with Sessions, Colorado gov thinks AG unlikely to crack down on 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\/after-meeting-with-sessions-colorado-gov-thinks-ag-unlikely-to-crack-down-on-marijuana\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"large-10 large-centered small-12 columns\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta-date\">Published: Apr 27, 2017, 2:56 pm \u2022 Updated: Apr 27, 2017, 7:00 pm<span class=\"single-comments-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/04\/27\/marijuana-meeting-ag-jeff-sessions-colorado-governor-john-hickenlooper\/78541\/#disqus_thread\" class=\"commentsNameLink\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <span class=\"author\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/awallace\/\" rel=\"author\">Alicia Wallace<\/a><\/span><em>, The Cannabist Staff<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Following a face-to-face meeting with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said he doesn\u2019t think a federal crackdown is imminent for his state or others that have legalized cannabis.<\/p>\n<p>Hickenlooper shared some details of his meeting this week with Sessions in Washington, D.C. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/mtp-daily\/watch\/full-interview-hickenlooper-makes-the-case-for-large-tent-democrats-930257475804\" target=\"_blank\">during an appearance Wednesday on MSNBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press Daily\u201d with host Chuck Todd<\/a> and in a follow-up interview Thursday with The Cannabist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wanted to understand his frame of reference on both cannabis and immigration,\u201d although cannabis dominated the conversation, Hickenlooper told The Cannabist.<\/p>\n<p>Wednesday\u2019s hour-long meeting was held at the request of the Colorado governor, who was traveling to D.C. for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership\u2019s 9th Annual Capital Conservation Awards Dinner.<\/p>\n<p>Hickenlooper\u00a0was among four governors from legal marijuana states who recently wrote an open letter to Sessions and the Secretary of the Treasury asking they engage with them before \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/04\/03\/governors-marijuana-letter-federal-enforcement-ag-jeff-sessions-treasury-steve-mnuchin\/76551\/\">embarking on any changes to regulatory and enforcement systems.<\/a>\u201d Sessions has, in recent months, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/03\/23\/federal-marijuana-trump-administration-tough-talk-jeff-sessions\/76000\/\">reiterated his opposition to marijuana legalization<\/a> but has not issued a formal enforcement policy.<\/p>\n<p>Sessions was receptive to keeping the lines of communication open, Hickenlooper said, adding that a policy position appears to be in the works.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s obviously reviewing the Cole (Memo),\u201d Hickenlooper said. \u201c(They\u2019re working on) a version of that that makes sense for this administration. We\u2019ll have to see how far they go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hickenlooper described Sessions as \u201cdirect,\u201d \u201cstraight-forward\u201d and \u201chonest.\u201d And while the attorney general \u201ccouldn\u2019t have been more emphatic\u201d about legalization being a bad idea, he also understood that Colorado\u2019s marijuana regulations came to be because of the will of the voters.<\/p>\n<p>As such, Hickenlooper said, he doesn\u2019t believe Sessions will come down on legal marijuana states from an enforcement standpoint.<\/p>\n<p>The Colorado governor extended an invite for the attorney general to get a first-hand look at his state\u2019s regulated marijuana industry. To that, Sessions simply smiled, Hickenlooper said.<\/p>\n<p>In Wednesday\u2019s \u201cMTP Daily\u201d appearance, Hickenlooper said the former Alabama senator and prosecutor made clear his anti-drug stance and his concern about a trend toward more drug consumption.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he certainly listened,\u201d Hickenlooper said. \u201cWe (in Colorado) haven\u2019t seen a big spike in consumption. We haven\u2019t seen a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2016\/12\/21\/teen-marijuana-use-rates-drop-colorado-2014-2015-federal-survey\/69810\/\">significant increase in teenage consumption<\/a> or any of these things.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd he certainly was very direct and clearly said they\u2019ve got a lot of priorities. And, at one point, he said, \u2018Well you haven\u2019t seen us cracking down, have you?\u2019 I said, \u2018No.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hickenlooper said he interpreted that to mean the drug enforcement priorities for the Department of Justice rest with substances such as heroin, methamphetamines and cocaine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean that he feels in any way that he should be cutting any slack to marijuana,\u201d he\u00a0told Todd.<\/p>\n<p>Hickenlooper said he described Colorado\u2019s approach to marijuana legalization, and how the state is accumulating data and using tax revenue to support law enforcement efforts against illegal activity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re spending $6 (million) to $10 million to support the U.S. attorney (in Colorado) but also local law enforcement to make sure that if there are illegal grows in Colorado and that marijuana is going out of state, we\u2019re going to nail them; we\u2019re going to prosecute them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/02\/27\/list-eye-2017-colorado-legislation-marijuana-hemp-bills\/73558\/\">State legislation was introduced this session<\/a> to fund law enforcement and prosecution costs to clamp down on gray- and black-market marijuana activity and to impose plant count limits so as to help prevent diversion out of state or to the black market. The governor\u00a0is expected to sign both bills.<\/p>\n<p>Hickenlooper also seemingly proved influential in state lawmakers\u2019 moves to scrap proposals that would have broadened Colorado\u2019s regulations and allow for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/04\/13\/colorado-pot-clubs-legislation\/77304\/\">social pot clubs<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/04\/12\/colorado-marijuana-stores-federal-crackdown\/77197\/\">marijuana home delivery<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/03\/31\/colorado-governor-john-hickenlooper-marijuana-2017\/76411\/\">Hickenlooper told The Cannabist<\/a> last month that if he were to speak with Sessions, he would explain his opposition to legalization and his oath to the state constitution. He said he\u00a0would argue that \u201cthe country has potential benefit to be able to see this experiment through to a natural conclusion. Let\u2019s go a couple more years and see and get more data and really see, \u2018Are we worse off or better off than we were before?&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hickenlooper told Todd that he made those points and others to Sessions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe certainly understood that we\u2019re trying to pull together data, and he\u2019s a pretty strong supporter of states being laboratories of democracy,\u201d Hickenlooper said. \u201cHe is very clear. He is anti-drugs in all forms and he\u2019s not going to, in any way, encourage anyone to start a marijuana business to think it\u2019s a great idea to do or even safe to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat being said,\u201d Hickenlooper continued, \u201che didn\u2019t give me any reason to think that he is going to come down and suddenly try to put everyone out of business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/mtp-daily\/watch\/full-interview-hickenlooper-makes-the-case-for-large-tent-democrats-930257475804\" target=\"_blank\">Watch Hickenlooper\u2019s full interview with Chuck Todd on \u201cMeet the Press Daily\u201d:<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-meta-author\">\n<div class=\"authorimage\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/awallace\/\" rel=\"author\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/after-meeting-with-sessions-colorado-gov-thinks-ag-unlikely-to-crack-down-on-marijuana.jpg\" class=\"authormug\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"author-desc\">Alicia Wallace joined The Cannabist in July 2016, covering national marijuana policy and business. She contributes to the Denver Post&#8217;s beer industry coverage. In her 13 years as a business news reporter, her coverage has spanned the economy, Sports&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .row --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After meeting with AG Jeff Sessions, Gov. John Hickenlooper says on &#8220;Meet the Press Daily&#8221; he thinks the AG is unlikely to crack down but won&#8217;t &#8220;encourage&#8221; marijuana biz &#8220;in any way.&#8221; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6811,6964,2097,6813,77,5667,9,6855,5019,441,1,3,6963,61,1736],"tags":[6816,6967,4665,6818,2655,5673,6856,5022,3015,6966],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7368"}],"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=7368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7368\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}