Cannabis Sanctuary Cities May Bring The Feds To Their Knees

Bring on more Marijuana Sanctuary Cities

The full legalization of cannabis is imminent. We’ve reached the tipping point where undoing the legal cannabis industry, which has interwoven itself within many aspects of society, would be counterproductive to the benefit of society.

Nonetheless, the Federal government is doing all it can to stifle the liberation of cannabis. This is especially true when we talk about our favorite gremlin, Jeff Sessions, who is constantly flinging his prohibitionist drivel publicly. With rescinding the Cole Memo, which encouraged Federal prosecutors to overlook cannabis related cases in states that have a legal program on the books – as long as it didn’t cross state lines, reached the hands of minors and stopped the criminal element from participating.

While this was all good and well on paper, we still saw numerous cases where the Cole Memo meant jack shit and Federal authorities went after legal cannabis businesses.

Now, even that paper shield is removed.

So what can be done to undermine the prohibitionist inclinations of the Federal Government? Sanctuary Cities of course!

What are Sanctuary Cities?

A Sanctuary City is essentially a place where local law enforcement does not participate with federal authorities when pursuing certain cases. It’s been frequently tied to immigration, however cities like Berkley are moving towards protecting their cannabis interests.

Essentially, Berkley law enforcement will not assist any Federal effort to prosecute legal cannabis businesses within their borders. Now, some of you might think, “Is this enough?”

The fact of the matter is that the Federal government can hardly do anything without the assistance of local law enforcement. They simply don’t have the manpower to tackle it on their own. They rely on the support of local law enforcement to achieve their goals.

Thus, when a Sanctuary city refuses to assist the Feds, which they have all the right to do, the federal efforts become infinitely less effective in enforcing federal laws.

This is why Sanctuary Cities could be the stake in the heart of prohibition, the one thing that the Federal government cannot control.

You see, there’s this little thing called “states rights” and the federal government can’t infringe on those rights; well they can, but it would be a nightmare to do so as they would have to challenge the constitution.

A state as a right to “not enforce” certain federal laws – as is the case with cannabis. Even though cannabis is illegal on a federal level, it can be legal on a state level. We have now seen eight states defy federal law this way and the District of Columbia.

Without support from the local governments, the feds really can’t do much to enforce federal law.

This is one of the best ways to fight back the federal wave and in the next section we’ll take a closer look on how you can influence your local politicians to turn your city into a Sanctuary City.

How to Influence Your Local Politicians to Become A Sanctuary City

I know the vast majority of you guys aren’t representatives of your local government. However, this doesn’t mean you have to sit by and led the Feds do whatever they want. Below we’ll talk about a few things you can do to influence your local politicians.

Garner Support

No Politician will take you seriously if you simply walk up to them, all by your lonesome, and make your case. They will immediately say, “I’m not getting into the pot debate…sorry”.

Their attitudes will quickly change when you’re holding 50,000 signatures in your hands from the local community. Suddenly, you’re not doing it alone…you have thousands of people, the very people who would vote for them in upcoming elections, that want a certain thing.

Under these circumstances, politicians are typically more than eager to assist you with whatever you’re proposing…in this case, Sanctuary Status for Cannabis.

Get the Facts Straight

Don’t just say what you want…prove to everyone why it’s the best approach for the city. Find out how cannabis helped the city in relation to crime, tax revenue, medical access, arrest rates, law enforcement spending, etc.

You will need this to explain to people why it’s important to gain Sanctuary Status. This will also help whichever representative that takes on your cause to fight their battles. It’s always good to have statistics and real data on hand to validate your point and make it irrefutable.

Get the Cannabis Community to help

Go to your local dispensaries, bong shops and other cannabis businesses/groups and get them all to help. The more the merrier.

Don’t back down

You might get stonewalled. It will probably happen at one point in time. Ignore that, and keep on hammering. If your local government is simply not going to budge on it, start prepping people to take their spots. Find out who would be a viable replacement that would help you fight your fight, and then help campaign for that person to get into office.

When politicians realize that the people will replace them with candidates that reflect the views of the people, they will quickly submit to the will of the people.

Sanctuary Cities – The Last Stand

Sanctuary Cities/States will be the key factor in beating the Federal prohibition of cannabis. Get active and let’s all change the game together. Start with your city...expand it to your state. Only united will we win.