In the early days of 2018 for marijuana, it truly is the best of times and the worst of times. Not since the creation of the Controlled Substances Act has legal cannabis been more prevalent in American society, with more than half the country living in a state where they can access it either medically or recreationally. At the same time, President Trump's Justice Department has rescinded the Cole Memo, an Obama Policy that prevented the federal government from prosecuting cannabis ventures in legal states. Should we celebrate? Should we panic?
With record national support, how could this happen? In all honesty, a head on collision between legal states and the federal government has been brewing since medical legalization began under the Clinton Administration. With Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, any novice could predict this battle would come to a head.
There is no secret behind Session's disdain for cannabis or the consumption thereof. His most famous quote that "Good people don't smoke marijuana" was widely circulated upon his nomination in late 2016 for AG in the new Trump Administration. His identification with enforcement in the War on Drugs dates back to the Reagan Presidency. Remember "Just say no"? Such an antiquated stance on drug reform was still being spewed by the current President via his speech on the opioid epidemic in October, 2017. And who was behind this rhetoric? Jeff Sessions who claimed "People should say no to drug use".
http://time.com/4999376/history-opioid-just-say-no/
Now, the Cole Memo was never meant to be a fix-all for the issue of cannabis. It was more of a bandage on a tremendous flesh wound that the Obama Administration simply didn't want to deal with directly. A wound that has been hemorrhaging for multiple presidencies. Oddly enough, those same presidents are known to have partaken themselves. Not so with Trump, and most certainly not with Sessions. Hence, why the last 20 years have allowed for rapid expansion of a legitimate cannabis industry and why it must be dealt with now.
A year ago pro marijuana activists, advocates, patients, lobbyists and organizations were waiting for this day to come. So what should we expect?
No doubt the politics of marijuana will now be defined. Several prominent politicians at the federal, state and local level have come out fiercely opposed to the AG's decision. One of the most notable is Cory Gardner, Republican Senator out of Colorado:
"Reports that the Justice Department will rescind their current policy on legal marijuana enforcement are extremely alarming. Before I voted to confirm Attorney General Sessions, he assured me that marijuana would not be a priority for this Administration. Today’s action directly contradicts what I was told, and I am prepared to take all steps necessary, including holding DOJ nominees, until the Attorney General lives up to the commitment he made to me prior to his confirmation. In 2016, President Trump said marijuana legalization should be left up to the states and I agree."
Full Clip:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1639345242778823&id=160924893954206
Of course famed legalization Senator Cory Booker, Democrat out of New Jersey, was quick to lash out at Sessions and also promote his legislation to ending marijuana prohibition nationally:
"Jeff Sessions is trying to restart a front of the failed War on Drugs – a war on marijuana. How long will low-income communities, communities of color, our children, and our veterans have to suffer the consequences of our failed marijuana prohibition policies while 3 out of the last 4 Presidents have openly admitted to trying?"
Full Clip:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157563185012228&id=36872302227
Washington State is gearing up for a potential showdown with the feds. State AG Bob Ferguson gives an inside on just how prepared Washington has been:
“Take my word for it, my legal team has been very focused on this issue from the day marijuana was legalized in Washington state five years ago. Our legal arguments have been crafted, we are prepared.”
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/politics-government/marijuana/article193052664.html
Before the Sessions decision came down, he along with the DEA and Justice Department, were being sued by a group patients who contend the Schedule 1
status of cannabis is unconstitutional. Among this group is the famed medical marijuana refugee Alexis Bortell who left the harsh prohibition climate in Texas. Recently, she passed 1,000 days seizure free using whole plant medical cannabis oil (yes that means with THC). Per her social media accounts, this battle will begin on Valentine's Day in a New York district court.
National reform groups such as NORML are actively calling on Congress to address this issue. Clearly marijuana legality has lingered in ambiguity for long enough. Literally billions of dollars are at stake.
http://norml.org/action-center/item/tell-congress-to-stop-jeff-sessions-crackdown
No one needs to hit the panic button quite yet. In places like Texas where cannabis possession is still criminalized, all of this is fairly moot anyway. Nationally, the concern should have been raised last year. The cannabis movement depends on the last year's worth of preparations for our current reality. There is also hope the federal government will lack the funds necessary to engage in any kind of significant crackdown. Regardless, cannabis is here to stay. And like the weed that it is, it's spreading across the country like a green wild fire. It is time for the Prohibitionists to understand, we will have legal cannabis!