Agreed, I think the volatility and uncertainty is what’s worrying everyone. On the plus side, at least he hasn’t come out strongly against it, and appears to be taking no action towards changing the status quo. It’s not like this was one of his platforms that he ran on and he’s got his hands full with all the things he did say he was going to focus on. In the meantime we have the increasing data and public sentiment from the states like Colorado and Washington where legalization has happened without the world coming crashing down.
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@allie I heard an interesting theory the other day. Because Trump doesn’t seem to understand the way US Government works, he tries to act like the CEO of a corporation and implement executive changes. The thing he doesn’t seem to grasp is that there are checks and balances in place to restrict the power of the president, and it makes him extremely mad when those balances are used.
That, and he apparently watches a bit too much TV.
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It just got a whole lot clearer today.
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You weren’t kidding:
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As @Bogaat said in another thread, cannabis is not a partisan issue. Both conservatives and liberals alike think it is a medicinally useful substance.
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The money involved in the industry will eventually do all of the talking, and he’ll have to capitulate. Jared Kushner is also apparently invested in a MMJ company.
It could also be that Kushner and others are profiting off the industry as it stands today, and promises to continue enforcing the laws would only slow down the precipitous drop in price over the past few years - ensuring more time to be securely invested in the industry before it is allowed to take off.
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I don’t think the issue is Trump – it’s Jeff Sessions. What Jeff Sessions Said About Marijuana in His Confirmation Hearing | Fortune
While Donald Trump himself voiced his support for legal medical marijuana on the campaign trail, the Sessions nomination makes it unclear where Trump’s administration will stand on the question of statewide decisions to legalize the drug for either medical or recreational purposes. That uncertainty has been a cause for concern in the marijuana industry. In the past, Sessions has publicly stated his belief that “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.” The senator also said just last year that “we need grown-ups in charge in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized… that it is, in fact, a very real danger.”
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@AlexJacobs - That’s not a bad point actually. The Trump family could profit from keeping the status quo.
@Changemaker-Lilli - That’s also quite possible. Trump seems to be heavily influenced by the people around him, and Jeff Sessions could easily push Trump towards more vigorous enforcement.
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Another article analyzing the recent Spicer press conference: Did the Trump Administration Really Declare War Against Recreational Marijuana States? – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news
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More (depressing) news on the subject:
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2017-02-28/jeff-sessions-beats-war-drum-on-pot-legalization-concerning-state-attorneys-general
New legalization legislation introduced at the federal level. Not sure if it has a hope of passing, but at least people are fighting back:
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cui bono?
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With the recent news that Jeff Sessions may have committed perjury, I’m interested in seeing what happens with the war drums.
Perhaps it was just another fear-mongering distraction: Sessions Told Senators He Had No Plans for Cannabis Crackdown | Leafly
At any rate, the war drums have been turned in the direction of Obama over pre-election wiretapping of Trump. That’s why former AG Loretta Lynch issued a muted call for civil war today - as she sought the FISA wiretapping warrant in June 2016 and apparently moved it to the Clinton-stacked FISA Review Court for approval when denied…after meeting Clinton on the tarmac at Phoenix. Reports that Bill Clinton is singing like a canary in the Clinton Foundation investigation seem to be substantiated by current events.
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A second rant against cannabis by Jeff Sessions. Hopefully it’s just hot air and not actual policy coming:
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2017-03-15/jeff-sessions-veers-off-script-bashes-pot-use-but-steers-clear-of-claim-its-slightly-less-awful-than-heroin-abuse
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It seems pretty clear to me that he’s still heavily influenced by the propaganda of the time and place of where he grew up. I don’t think any amount of evidence, quantitative or qualitative, is going to change his mind.
Looks like at least medical is safe for now, with the new budget:
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My only concern with this is that it leaves recreational wide open to prosecution. Since many growers grow for both recreational and medicinal, this could be used as a loophole for the DEA and/or Justice Department.
Some good lobbying going on. Hopefully they’ll get heard:
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