The nomination of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General is worrisome but court battles over states’ rights and decisive voter support for legal cannabis make tough enforcement problematic for the Trump Administration.
A month after the election, marijuana legalization advocates still await some clear indication of President-elect Donald Trump’s official stance toward legal cannabis.
Voters in eight states joined the legalization movement on Nov. 8. Those included two of the largest: California approved recreational marijuana while Florida expanded the use of medical marijuana.
Still, concerns continue to grow among marijuana proponents about how a Trump Administration will address legalized cannabis. They are especially troubled by Trump’s planned Attorney General nomination of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, a vocal opponent of marijuana legalization.
However, some say there remain plenty of reasons to stay optimistic even as others voice concern over the future of legalized marijuana under Trump.
States’ rights
Ian Eisenberg is managing owner of Uncle Ike’s, Seattle’s biggest marijuana retailer and the second biggest in Washington, one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana. Eisenberg told mynorthwest.com that “there’s a lot of doom and gloom going around that Sessions, being the attorney general, will go after states for medical and recreational pot. I’m not one of those people. It’s possible, but it’s not likely.”
Eisenberg pointed to Trump’s advocacy of states’ rights on many issues. “Letting states do their own thing with pot is a pretty good example of a state right,” he said.
Nate Bradley, executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Association, voiced similar hopes to USA Today, saying marijuana advocates are hopeful Trump’s support of states’ rights will outweigh Sessions’ views.
Eisenberg also pointed to the rising popularity of marijuana across the country. More than half of all Americans have access to medical marijuana and 65 million people live in states that have legalized recreational marijuana. Eisenberg said. “I don’t know what Trump would gain by cracking down on cannabis. The country is pretty evenly split now and the popularity is rising.”
(Will the New US Attorney General Try to End Marijuana Legalization? – Weed Finder® News | Article Credit: Forbes.com)