{"id":8024,"date":"2018-01-25T01:01:45","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T01:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com?p=2930335&amp;preview_id=2930335"},"modified":"2018-01-25T01:01:45","modified_gmt":"2018-01-25T01:01:45","slug":"could-sessions-marijuana-policy-shift-benefit-the-cannabis-industry-in-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/could-sessions-marijuana-policy-shift-benefit-the-cannabis-industry-in-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Sessions\u2019 marijuana policy shift benefit the cannabis industry in 2018?"},"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\/could-sessions-marijuana-policy-shift-benefit-the-cannabis-industry-in-2018\/\" 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: Jan 24, 2018, 1:23 pm \u2022 Updated: Jan 24, 2018, 3:08 pm <span class=\"single-comments-link\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <span class=\"author\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/bkennedy\/\" rel=\"author\">Bruce Kennedy<\/a><\/span><em>, The Cannabist Staff<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Uncertainty interjected into the cannabis industry earlier this month by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions could create new opportunities for the sector and advance legalization legislation.<\/p>\n<p>But the realities of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2018\/01\/04\/jeff-sessions-rescinding-legalized-marijuana-policy\/95875\/\">post-Cole Memo<\/a> legal landscape underscore just why the <a href=\"https:\/\/thecannabisindustry.org\/\">National Cannabis Industry Association<\/a> exists, the organization\u2019s executive director Aaron Smith told the Colorado Cannabis Caucus Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n<p>The demise of the Cole Memo \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2014\/02\/14\/cole-memo-federal-law-enforcement-guidelines-on-marijuana-enforcement\/4733\/\">Obama-era U.S. Department of Justice guidance on marijuana enforcement<\/a> \u2014 needs to be taken seriously by the entire industry, he told the gathering of 250 NCIA members in downtown Denver.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it\u2019s important to note that this was not a major, substantive shift in policy,\u201d Smith said. \u201cU.S. attorneys have prosecutorial discretion around which cases they prosecute \u2014 just as they always have.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the aftermath of Sessions\u2019 marijuana moves, several of the country\u2019s 93 U.S. attorneys said they weren\u2019t going to change their enforcement priorities, he noted. But he conceded that there were some \u201cless positive statements\u201d from federal prosecutors in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2018\/01\/08\/massachusetts-marijuana-law-prosecution-andrew-lelling\/96249\/\">Massachusetts<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2018\/01\/12\/billy-williams-oregon-attorney-marijuana\/96649\/\">Oregon<\/a>, for instance.<\/p>\n<p>A handful of U.S. attorneys might try \u201cto make a name for themselves in the drug war community, where people still actually support shutting down legal businesses,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n<p>The attorney general made a \u201chuge tactical error\u201d with unilateral action, Smith told the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(Sessions) did not coordinate with the Department of Treasury, he did not coordinate with anybody in Congress,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom the intelligence that we\u2019re receiving from our lobbyists who have been working very closely with the Trump Administration, he did not even inform the White House that he was doing this.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s on an island.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with The Cannabist after his presentation, Smith said that Sessions\u2019 decision <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2018\/01\/09\/federal-marijuana-legalization-bills-sponsors\/96316\/\">has forced members of Congress and other national leaders to take sides<\/a> when it comes to cannabis legalization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(Politicians) look at our side, where we have over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2018\/01\/08\/pew-poll-marijuana-adults\/96217\/\">two-thirds of the country supporting legal marijuana<\/a> and over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2018\/01\/11\/marijuana-enforcement-legalization-opinion-poll-americans\/96533\/\">70 percent say that they want the federal government out of it<\/a>. It\u2019s kind of hard of them to go with Jeff Sessions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>More members of Congress are stepping forward to ask how they can help, NCIA staff report. Given the country is in an election year, Smith expects more federal lawmakers to go on the record with their support for cannabis legalization.<\/p>\n<p>But he conceded that getting the momentum needed for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/03\/03\/lists-federal-marijuana-laws-legislation-congressional-cannabis-caucus\/73878\/\">current crop of pro-cannabis bills in Congress<\/a> to progress could be a \u201creally heavy lift,\u201d especially since congressional leadership is at best hesitant when it comes to cannabis legalization efforts.<\/p>\n<p>There is reason for optimism for a solution to another dilemma facing NCIA members\u2019 businesses, Smith said. Marijuana banking issues are ripe for change on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n<p>Due to federal prohibitions and fear of federal prosecution, many banks and financial institutions avoid working with cannabis companies, he said. But other than Jeff Sessions, there really isn\u2019t any political power player pushing against marijuana banking legislation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s not a lobby trying to keep cannabis businesses from being able to have bank accounts. Because even if you land on the side of the prohibitionists, you still want to have businesses being able to put their money in the bank, so it\u2019s not a cash-only operation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The organization\u2019s Colorado Cannabis Caucus broke out in applause when Smith praised the state\u2019s industry for setting a national example.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou guys have shown in a state like Colorado \u2014 that has for over four years successfully regulated marijuana \u2026that regulation works and it\u2019s by far the better alternative than allowing cannabis to go back to the black market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Colorado must set an example and continue to lead the nation\u2019s cannabis sector by strictly complying with state law, he emphasized.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMake sure that you\u2019re a good neighbor and a good corporate citizen,\u201d he said, \u201cso that if rogue law enforcement agents or a U.S. attorney does decide to do some kind of a crackdown, that you have a community around you that\u2019s standing up to defend you. So now\u2019s the time to make sure that you\u2019re 100 percent compliant and again, go above and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NCIA has been impressed with the legal cannabis industry\u2019s resolve in the face of the attorney general\u2019s actions, Smith told The Cannabist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think people are a little bit nervous,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I haven\u2019t seen anybody say, \u2018I\u2019m out of this, I\u2019m going underground.\u201d The industry is stronger now than it has ever been.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2018\/01\/04\/sessions-cole-memo-marijuana-legal-impact\/95903\/\">Experts and politicians weigh in on potential impact of Sessions\u2019 rollback of marijuana policy<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"entry-meta-author\">\n<div class=\"authorimage\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/bkennedy\/\" rel=\"author\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/could-sessions-marijuana-policy-shift-benefit-the-cannabis-industry-in-2018.jpg\" class=\"authormug\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"author-desc\">Bruce Kennedy is a veteran communications professional and multi-media journalist who has years of experience in international and business news. He started covering Colorado&#8217;s cannabis industry in&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .row --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>The Attorney General&#8217;s unilateral moves have forced politicians to take sides on marijuana legalization, the leader of the National Cannabis Industry Association told a gathering of the group&#8217;s Colorado members. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6811,6964,6813,77,9,7036,5019,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[6816,6967,6818,2655,7037,5022],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8024"}],"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=8024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8024\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}