FATE OF LEGAL POT UNCERTAIN
Directive puts state in tough spot
Andrew Lelling has a lot of explaining to do.
Massachusetts’ new U.S. attorney, now armed with tough-on-marijuana directives from Attorney General Jeff Sessions, has to outline how far his office will go to tamp down on weed in a state where it’s legal.
He has to tell those who have spent thousands of dollars on setting up marijuana dispensaries whether their investments are above board or if they can expect to be arrested for conducting a business that voters signed off on.
“I think there is a legitimate concern — especially if you set up an establishment that starts to generate mil-
lions,” former Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz told me yesterday. “There could be prosecutions, and you could see the use of anti-money-laundering statutes to seize the assets from those establishments.”
Advice was tough to come by in the hours after Sessions decided to rescind an Obama-era policy allowing states to pursue legalized pot. Lelling’s statement said nothing of the legal marketplace that looms large in the Bay State.
Attorneys representing those who are already in the business were telling their clients to sit tight. But the wait-and-see approach offers little comfort to the long line of people set to capitalize on the weed business.
“A lot of folks are confused right now, and I think it needs to be very clear who prosecutors are going to go after,” Ortiz said. “Congress may have to step in. People are laying out a lot of money, and they are going to want clear answers.”
Kevin Conroy, a former deputy attorney general who is an expert in the state’s marijuana law, was fielding calls throughout the day yesterday.
“Anybody who gets into this industry knows there are some risks,” he said. “We all woke up today knowing that there is a greater risk to dispensing recreational marijuana than there was yesterday. How much of a greater risk? We just don’t know yet.”
Michael D. Cutler, a longtime attorney who advises people in the marijuana industry, was telling his clients yesterday to contact their state representatives, the governor and the attorney general.
“Let them know that you support the state law and that you support reform,” he said. “Tell them to stand up and defend the will of the Massachusetts people.”
Ortiz said that the ongoing concern is legitimate, and that while federal prosecutors have “more serious matters to be concerned about” there are no guarantees that all recreational marijuana businesses are safe.
“People are going to have to hang tight and run a clean and legitimate business,” she said. “I think the idea that you can run a business that makes millions of dollars and be immune to prosecution is questionable right now.”