Trump administration targets recreational pot, placing thousands of marijuana businesses in California at risk - latimes

Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions ended an Obama-era federal policy that provided legal shelter for marijuana sales in California and five other states that have allowed recreational pot, placing at risk thousands of marijuana businesses operating legally under state laws.

The Justice Department move on Thursday plunged California’s fledgling recreational pot market into further uncertainty, and was met with a bipartisan backlash from lawmakers in states where marijuana is now sold legally to any adult who wants to buy it.

"It is the mission of the Department of Justice to enforce the laws of the United States,” Sessions said in a statement, which added that the Obama-era policy that directed federal prosecutors not to target state marijuana businesses “undermines the rule of law and the ability of our local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement partners to carry out this mission."

With the California industry expected to generate up to $7 billion eventually, the Justice Department announcement was likely to chill potential investors in the state’s pot market, industry leaders predicted.

But California’s state Bureau of Cannabis Control, which on Monday began processing hundreds of applications for businesses seeking to legally grow, transport and sell marijuana. showed no sign of slowing after Sessions’ announcement.

The bureau’s chief, Lori Ajax, vowed to continue issuing permits “while defending our state's laws to the fullest extent.”

Legally, California and other states can’t prevent the federal government from enforcing federal drug laws. “There is nothing that I can see the state attorney general could possibly do to preclude a marijuana prosecution under federal law,” said industry attorney Aaron Herzberg. He said the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on the matter. “The federal supremacy clause governs.”

Legally, California and other states can’t prevent the federal government from enforcing federal drug laws. “There is nothing that I can see the state attorney general could possibly do to preclude a marijuana prosecution under federal law,” said industry attorney Aaron Herzberg. He said the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on the matter. “The federal supremacy clause governs.”

The attorney general has, however, expressed specific concerns about marijuana policies in California. In a remark after a news conference last month, for example, he said he was disturbed about California’s role as a pot-exporting state, noting that much of the state’s crop ends up on the black market.

In California, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney in Sacramento said the office “will evaluate violations of [federal] laws in accordance with our district’s federal law enforcement priorities and resources.” A spokesman for the U.S. attorney in San Francisco largely echoed that statement, adding that the office will work with "state, local, and federal law enforcement and allocate resources accordingly."

The U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego went a step further, issuing a statement saying Sessions’ decision “returns trust and local control to federal prosecutors in each district when it comes to enforcing the Controlled Substances Act.”

Six states have legalized recreational use of marijuana: California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Colorado and Alaska. Voters in Maine and Massachusetts have also approved legalization measures, but they have not taken effect. - More

Trump administration targets recreational pot, placing thousands of marijuana businesses in California at risk

California could become a 'sanctuary state' for the marijuana industry under this lawmaker's legislation