Attorney General Jeff Sessions has some rather sobering concerns with the implementation of recreational marijuana in Washington State.
Washington State legalized adult-use marijuana by passing Initiative 502 during the 2012 general election. Now, almost five years after the fact, the country's attorney general has officially put the state's policymakers on notice.
Sessions, in a letter addressed to Washington State Attorney General Robert Ferguson and Gov. Jay Inslee, started off with a congenial tone that quickly devolved into a not-so-veiled threat.
Voters in Washington State passed I-502 in 2012 with 56 percent of the vote. Since that historic moment, the state's recreational marijuana industry has cultivated more than $2 billion in total revenue and more than $400 million in state taxes, purportedly following the regulatory structure outlined by the Cole Memorandum.
The AG's letter cites findings from a 2016 report by the Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) as a cause for concern.
A fan of states' rights and federalism when he supports a specific ideology, Sessions seemingly loathes the fact that individual states have snubbed the federal government and legalized adult-use cannabis. Warned by Gov. Inslee that the Trump Administration and its Department of Justice would be "on the wrong side of history" for pursuing a policy of national prohibition, Sessions has continued to push the low-rent philosophy of prohibition for all.
@MontereyBud is misreading the Sessions letter. The letter is actually good news because it affirms the Cole memo enforcement standard. This does NOT signal a change in federal enforcement standards regarding states with a legal, regulated marijuana program. Instead, Sessions is seeking assurance that WA state will administer its marijuana program in a manner that addresses non-compliance with the state standard. I don't see why that's newsworthy- seems consistent with the status quo.
@Luke Jones, thanks for your comment and input.
I agree that Sessions quoting of the Cole Memorandum is good news, in that it seems he intends on following it. But the AG's letter also seemingly insinuated that the feds are looking for a red herring to intervene on state policy. While it may not signal a change in past "federal enforcement standards," it doesn't negate the zeal in which our embattled head of the DOJ will enforce them.
Those liars in southern Colorado are nothing but sore losers. Nothing they say is true they are liars and thieves of the worst sort. Jeffy was expecting the propaganda lies to come true and let him say that cannabis caused violence. But the FBI put a stopper in that idea. They state that states with legal cannabis have lower rates of violent crimes.
I'm getting tired of this stupid bot telling me I am posting too fast.
I'm with you on that one Loving????!