Marijuana industry facing federal battle
AG Sessions wants Senate to roll back enforcement blocks
In a national vote widely viewed as a victory for conservatives, last year’s elections also yielded a win for liberals in eight states that legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use. But the growing industry is facing a federal crackdown under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has compared cannabis to heroin.
A task force Sessions appointed to, in part, review links between violent crimes and marijuana is scheduled to release its findings by the end of the month.
But he has already asked Senate leaders to roll back rules that block the Justice Department from bypassing state laws to enforce a federal ban on medical marijuana.
That has pitted the attorney general against members of Congress across the political spectrum — from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., — who are determined to defend states’ rights and provide some certainty for the multibillion-dollar pot industry.
In February, Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said the Trump administration would look into enforcing federal law against recreational marijuana businesses.
Some states are considering tougher stands: In Massachusetts, for example, the Legislature is trying to rewrite a law to legalize recreational marijuana that voters passed in November.
About one-fifth of Americans now live in states where marijuana is legal for adult use, according to the Brookings Institution, and an estimated 200 million live in places where medicinal marijuana is legal.
Cannabis retailing has moved from street corners to state-ofthe-art dispensaries and stores.
Marijuana merchants are protected by a provision in the federal budget that prohibits the Justice Department from spending money to block state laws that allow medicinal cannabis.
Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department did not interfere with state laws that legalize marijuana and instead focused on prosecuting drug cartels and the transport of pot across state lines.
Lawmakers who support legalizing marijuana contend that it leads to greater regulation, curbs the black market and stops money laundering.
Some lawmakers also want to allow banks to work with the marijuana industry and to allow tax deductions for business expenses.
Consumers spent $5.9 billion on legal cannabis in the United States last year, according to the Arcview Group, which studies and invests in the industry. That figure is expected to reach $19 billion by 2021.
A Quinnipiac University poll in February concluded that 59 percent of U.S. voters believe cannabis should be legal.
Additionally, the poll found, 71 percent say the federal government should not prosecute marijuana use in states that have legalized it.