It’s being said that if the Trump administration chooses to crackdown on legalized marijuana in the U.S. it would be committing political suicide. A leader in Colorado’s 2012 measures to legalize recreational marijuana says that Sessions couldn’t rollback the marijuana industry’s progress if he tried. Brian Vincente is a leading marijuana attorney.
DC-based marijuana activist Jeremy Ettinger is also confident that politicians would have a hard time fighting public pressure and opinion, according to Observer. Ettinger personally had a 45-minute conversation with Sessions’ staff. The goal of the group was to “build some goodwill” with the new Attorney General.
Vincente said, “You have 28 states with medical marijuana. Eight states with legalization, there is a lot of government bureaucracy that is supportive of marijuana legalization. Our state generates about $200 million dollars a year in tax revenue. So there’s a lot of entrenched interests and I could see this being a tough battle for Sessions to take on. I’ve tried a number of cases in front of juries, and when they know that they and their neighbors voted to legalize marijuana we have prosecutors trying to put people in jail for something that should not be a crime.”
For the Trump administration to further the battle against marijuana, it could mean his political demise. It is important for the administration to look at data that proves that criminal activity has reduced in states with legal recreational and/or medical marijuana. Marijuana is not a gateway drug, especially in terms of opiate use, according to Forbes, and is not addictive.
The Trump administration should look at how much revenue comes in annually from marijuana tax dollars in regulated markets. It creates jobs, as more than 100,000 people are working in the marijuana industry nationwide. Marijuana is safer when it is regulated and requires testing, proper labeling and childproof deterrents.
Isaac Dietrich of MassRoots says that Colorado has seen a decline in opioid-related deaths.
Derek Peterson of Terra Tech said, “We have hoped and still hope that the federal government will respect states’ rights in the same manner they have on several other issues .We hope the new administration really takes the time to understand that the money is either going into states’ coffers or making its way to drug cartels.”
fb.com/DonaldTrump