{"id":7673,"date":"2017-08-23T16:52:53","date_gmt":"2017-08-23T16:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=2761695"},"modified":"2017-08-23T16:52:53","modified_gmt":"2017-08-23T16:52:53","slug":"oregon-gov-police-chief-say-sessions-marijuana-claims-based-on-flawed-leaked-draft-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/oregon-gov-police-chief-say-sessions-marijuana-claims-based-on-flawed-leaked-draft-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Oregon gov, police chief say Sessions\u2019 marijuana claims based on flawed, leaked, draft report"},"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\/oregon-gov-police-chief-say-sessions-marijuana-claims-based-on-flawed-leaked-draft-report\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"large-10 large-centered small-12 columns\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta-date\">Published: Aug 23, 2017, 9:19 am \u2022 Updated: Aug 23, 2017, 10:07 am<span class=\"single-comments-link\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <span class=\"author\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/pwashburn\/\" rel=\"author\">Polly Washburn<\/a><\/span><em>, The Cannabist Staff<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Oregon\u2019s governor and the head of the state police responded Tuesday to a letter from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in which he said cannabis legalization in the state had not done enough to curb black market grows.<\/p>\n<p>Like leaders from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/08\/16\/jeff-sessions-marijuana-alaska-washington-letters\/86224\/\">Washington and Alaska in letters last week<\/a>, Gov. Kate Brown and Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton said that the data Sessions used to draw his conclusions came from a report that was inaccurate.<\/p>\n<p>In her letter dated August 22, posted on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oregon.gov\/newsroom\/Pages\/NewsDetail.aspx?newsid=2245\">the state\u2019s website<\/a>, Brown noted, \u201cThe Oregon State Police determined that the draft report required significant additional work and revision, because the data was inaccurate and the heavily extrapolated conclusions were incorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his own letter of August 16, Hampton said the report, which Sessions\u2019 cited and attributed to Hampton\u2019s agency, was the \u201cfirst and least defensible draft,\u201d which the agency \u201chad no immediate plans to publish until objective data could be recovered for many years.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>When the report was leaked, Hampton said, \u201cThe agency attempted to make clear the document was not accurate, not validated, outdated and the Oregon State Police did not endorse the conclusions in the draft baseline report. Unfortunately you sourced the same leaked draft document as evidence against Oregon\u2019s marijuana regulatory structure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Governors of four Western states that have legalized recreational marijuana \u2014 Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington \u2014 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/08\/07\/jeff-sessions-letter-oregon-marijuana-governor-kate-brown\/85524\/\">each received letters from Sessions<\/a> dated July 24, responding to a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/04\/03\/governors-marijuana-letter-federal-enforcement-ag-jeff-sessions-treasury-steve-mnuchin\/76551\/\">joint letter the governors sent Sessions on April 3<\/a>, asking Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to \u201cengage with us before embarking on any changes to regulatory and enforcement systems.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>In each letter, Sessions referred to regional and state data depicting serious public health and safety issues arising from marijuana legalization. <\/p>\n<p>In Oregon\u2019s case, Sessions cited findings from an Oregon State Police report that noted \u201cpervasive illicit cannabis cultivation in the state,\u201d increases in emergency room visits and illegal trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>Brown referenced recent legislation that she had signed into law from January to May of 2017, meant to address many of the issues raised by Sessions, including tracking technology, plant limitations, increased criminal penalties. <\/p>\n<p>She also pointed to measures taken to ensure minors could not access \u201cor even view\u201d marijuana products, and a PSA campaign directed at minors.<\/p>\n<p>Regarding testing, she mentioned \u201cOregon boasts the most robust testing regime of any state to legalize marijuana\u2026 to avoid exacerbation of any public health consequences associated with legalization.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>She warned that \u201cdismantling of the Cole Memorandum would [drive] existing lawful product into the unregulated black market and [fund] criminal enterprise\u201d but then closed her letter on a positive note: <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\nI am confident that Oregon\u2019s regulated marketplace, coupled with our enforcement work, will serve to ensure compliance with the Cole Memorandum. My staff looks forward to continuing its work with both the United States Attorney\u2019s Office for the District of Oregon and your office in Washington DC to end black market marijuana operations and to provide mutual education and support of our legal and regulated marketplace.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Alaska Gov. Bill Walker and his Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/08\/16\/jeff-sessions-marijuana-alaska-washington-letters\/86224\/\">responded in a letter dated Aug. 14<\/a> that the 2015 data cited by the attorney general could not \u201cbe fairly attributed\u201d to the new marijuana regulatory system since legal sales in the state did not begin until 2016.<\/p>\n<p>In their August 15 response to Sessions, Washington Gov. Jay Inlsee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson pushed back forcefully on the U.S. Attorney General\u2019s citation of data from the March 2016 <a href=\"http:\/\/msani.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/NWHIDTA-Marijuana-Impact-Report-Volume-1.pdf\">(NW HIDTA) report<\/a> on marijuana in the state. They pointed out that the report was issued just four months before the state implemented legislative reforms that addressed many of the Depart of Justice\u2019s (DOJ) concerns. <\/p>\n<p>Colorado\u2019s governor and attorney general have yet to respond, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/08\/21\/marijuana-data-jeff-sessions-federal-hidta-reports\/86449\/\">one man thinks it\u2019s \u201chigh time\u201d they did.<\/a>. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Oregon Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3943774-8-22-17-Sessions.html\">Kate Brown response<\/a> to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions\u2019 letter of July 25<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3943774\/8-22-17-Sessions.pdf\">Oregon Gov Kate Brown letter to Jeff Sessions (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3943774\/8-22-17-Sessions.txt\">Oregon Gov Kate Brown letter to Jeff Sessions (Text)<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Oregon State Police Superintendent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3943773-Hampton-Sessions-Letter.html\">Travis Hampton\u2019s letter<\/a> supporting Brown\u2019s statements<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3943773\/Hampton-Sessions-Letter.pdf\">Travis Hampton letter to Jeff Sessions (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3943773\/Hampton-Sessions-Letter.txt\">Travis Hampton letter to Jeff Sessions (Text)<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-meta-author\">\n<div class=\"authorimage\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/pwashburn\/\" rel=\"author\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/oregon-gov-police-chief-say-sessions-marijuana-claims-based-on-flawed-leaked-draft-report.jpg\" class=\"authormug\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"author-desc\">Polly joined The Cannabist in December 2016 as a digital producer. She has been creating print, web and video content for a couple of decades. She returned to her home town of Denver in 2012 after living in eleven other cities in four countries, and&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .row --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Oregon&#8217;s governor and head of the state police have responded to a letter from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, critiquing cannabis legalization in the state. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6813,77,9,6833,5019,170,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[6818,2655,6835,5022,2748],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7673"}],"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=7673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7673\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}