The Silence of Sessions is Broken – Update on DOJ and Cannabis
I recently wrote an article entitled “The Silence of Sessions” and what it could mean for the cannabis industry as a whole. Recently however, the silence of Sessions was broken and he gave an updated view on what the Federal government will do in regards to cannabis legalization as a “States Rights Issues”.
Don’t worry…in this article, you’ll actually like Sessions’ response.
Here’s what he has to say;
"Our policy is the same, really, fundamentally as the Holder-Lynch policy, which is that the federal law remains in effect and a state can legalize marijuana for its law enforcement purposes but it still remains illegal with regard to federal purposes” – Jeff Sessions
For those of you unaware of what all this means – Sessions pretty much said that there will be no change in relation to what Obama’s administration did in regards to cannabis. That is, the federal government WILL NOT interfere with states that have legal medical cannabis programs in place. In other words, if you are compliant by state laws, the federal government cannot prosecute you since they are barred from spending a single penny on prosecution of cannabis related charges in legal marijuana states.
So all in all – Good News!
But wait…there’s more!
Sessions also admitted that cannabis isn’t as dangerous as heroin…meaning that the current classification of cannabis as a Schedule I drug isn’t accurate. Seeing that Schedule-I substances are reserved for drugs that have no medical value and a high potential for abuse…this is actually huge news.
Sessions’ predecessors would dance around the question like a drunk ballerina. Sessions is one of the few who actually straight up said, “Nope…it’s not as dangerous as heroin”.
Progressive Sessions?
I have written a lot about the antiquated views shared by Jeff Sessions, but this piece of news actually surprised me. For being someone stuck in the 1980s, he is being surprisingly progressive with his current position.
He also said that more research in cannabis would be ‘healthy’ for America. In turn he claimed that he’s going to be granting more research grants to help this along.
It turns out that the Trump administration, in relation to cannabis will be taking a ‘hands-off’ approach and a crackdown isn’t in their plans.
As I mentioned in earlier articles, cannabis is a political topic where most Americans are in favor of legalization. If any administration would usher in a Reagan era approach to cannabis in today’s political environment, it would surely be political suicide.
It seems that the Trump administration is quite clear on this fact and while there was a lot of smoke over the past year, it seems that a fire never started.
What does this mean for the Cannabis Community?
For starters, you won’t have DEA agents busting down your door if you are compliant with state laws. Well…they might bust down your door, but they can’t prosecute you and in all likeliness you’d be able to sue them for damages occurred if they break the law.
Just to reiterate….it’s LAW that prohibits agencies like the DEA to prosecute any cannabis patient or provider that is compliant with state law. That’s huge!
Can you remember back in the day when it was ‘open season’ on everyone with a glazed red shade in their eyes? Well, it seems that we are getting to the end of prohibition once and for all. I’m sure it’s not going to happen overnight; however, it could very well happen that cannabis is legalized all across the board within the next five years.
It’s been a struggle for the cannabis community to break through the stigma, to undo the rhetoric spewed by racist prohibitionists for decades…but it seems that the fight is nearing its end.
The United States of Cannabis
Every year, more states are legalizing cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. These new markets are providing financial gains from tax revenue, reducing black market activities and lowering the cost of enforcing antiquated laws. These are all wins for the people of each respective legalized state.
Right now, while there are several states with legal schemes in place, they cannot trade with other states as crossing a state border would be violating federal law.
What happens when that restriction is lifted?
Well, the cannabis market will grow exponentially and interstate commerce will commence. Once this happens, the price per gram will drop across the board, the quality of cannabis will increase but most exciting will be the innovations the marketplace will create.
New methods of consumption, a wide variety of products and competitive prices will all follow a federal legalization of a plant that is seemingly gaining popularity all over the world.
All I can say, with all this news is…thank the great gods of ganja that we will one day in the near future be rid of medieval laws concerning cannabis.
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