The Green Thread: Marijuana in the states

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I decided to create a new thread for this.  Old thread can be found here.

So, Jeff Sessions was confirmed as the new AG today and no one's really sure what will happen now as far as pot is concerned.  Sessions has made numerous anti-pot statements over the years and criticized the Obama administration last year for not cracking down on states that have legalized it.  In the Senate hearing, he said he wouldn't commit to not enforcing federal laws, but he also acknowledged the limited resources of the DoJ and recommended that Congress do something about the issue.

Trump has personally taken a "leave it the states" attitude on marijuana, so clearly it's not something that's high (no pun intended) on his agenda.  Considering the logistical and PR nightmares that would ensue with the Justice Department going after eight states and counting, as more states continue to liberalize their drug laws, I doubt he's willing to let Sessions have free reign over the issue.  So I guess I'm a tad optimistic that states will be allowed to continue experimenting with legalization as the movement for it grows.

In case I'm wrong, I'll post updates on any legal battles with the feds.  I also want to use this thread for updates on ballot initiatives, polls, legislative action, et cetera.


Two proposals have been made for legalization in the Minnesota legislature.  Unfortunately, they're probably DOA as Republicans control both chambers and Dayton is opposed to it.

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Spicer says Justice Department will crack down on states that legalized.

It begins.

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Quinnipiac poll shows a whopping 93% of Americans support medical marijuana use and 59 percent support legalizing recreational marijuana

Support for possession at 53% in Texas

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Politico

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Representatives Tom Garrett (R-VA) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) have introduced bipartisan legislation to exclude marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, thus leaving states the authority to regulate the plant how best they see fit.

Should be interesting to see how many Republicans get behind this.  I'd expect it to get near-unanimous support from state delegations where it's been legalized and possible majority support from the Freedom Caucus.  I don't think every Democrat will vote for it, but I think this has a real chance at getting passed.  Fingers crossed.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Representatives Tom Garrett (R-VA) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) have introduced bipartisan legislation to exclude marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, thus leaving states the authority to regulate the plant how best they see fit.

Should be interesting to see how many Republicans get behind this.  I'd expect it to get near-unanimous support from state delegations where it's been legalized and possible majority support from the Freedom Caucus.  I don't think every Democrat will vote for it, but I think this has a real chance at getting passed.  Fingers crossed.

Honestly, I'm not really convinced that will pass. It is basically legalization at the federal level, and probably the best way right now to get the feds off the backs of states that legalized is to do the same thing the Rohrabacher amendment did for medical marijuana: prohibit the DoJ from spending money to interfere with state legalization. This kind of amendment almost passed in 2015:

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/06/03/house-votes-to-ban-some-pot-law-enforcement-cut-dea-budget

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Of course, this doesn't solve the banking issue the industry faces, but it's a step in the right direction. Until Republicans become less dependent on old voters who still very much form the backbone of anti-cannabis attitudes in this country, it is hard to see them doing something as bold as ending federal prohibition.

Then again, I'm a pessimist when it comes to this stuff

Yeah, let's be honest here: this is going to be a political football until all the dinosaurs die/retire and get replaced by more forward-thinking people on this issue.  Fortunately, I think this is an issue that both parties will eventually reach agreement on and probably sooner rather than later.  Right now I think that any federal legalization/decriminalization attempt has a much better chance getting passed the House than the Senate, though, because there is a lot more diversity age-wise there.

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Happy 4/20.  A Virginia poll was released last week.

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I expected opposition to be a bit lower for Republicans, seeing as Republican millennials support legalization nationwide at 63%, but 59% is great here.  And that percentage supporting medical marijuana is just plain ridiculous.

As a side, both Northam and Perriello are for decriminalization and medical use.

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National support at all-time high

88% support medical, 61% support recreational, and 71% oppose a federal crackdown on states that have legalized.

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National support at all-time high

88% support medical, 61% support recreational, and 71% oppose a federal crackdown on states that have legalized.

Our politicians routinely believe and act as if America is more conservative than it actually is.

Most politicians are old white men, too.  It's not hard to figure out.

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Vermont Senate passes the amended legalization bill, sending it back to the House.  It isn't certain whether Phil Scott will sign or veto it if and when it passes, but the Senate has more than enough votes to override a veto.

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Some good news: after meeting with Sessions, Colorado gov thinks AG unlikely to crack down on marijuana

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National support at all-time high

88% support medical, 61% support recreational, and 71% oppose a federal crackdown on states that have legalized.

Our politicians routinely believe and act as if America is more conservative than it actually is.

Most politicians are old white men, too.  It's not hard to figure out.

And they all had it drilled into them throughout their school years how dangerous it was. Health classes that covered drug use back in the 60's-80's covered marijuana in the same section as heroin. It's very hard to overcome that deep early training, despite its common use in their college years, even as modern facts emerge.

Speaking as a high school student from the 80's, I concur.

I can sympathize with this to an extent.  But lawmakers are, at least in theory, supposed to be better informed and up-to-date about these things than the average voter.  They should be willing to change their beliefs in the face of new evidence, as plenty of medical experts have in recent years.

But for people like Sessions, I think this is clearly seen as a moral issue more than a medical issue, though it's also generational and that's why I think we'll see more marijuana-friendly legislation from Congress and the states as older politicians from both parties are steadily replaced by younger ones.  I think eventually this won't be a partisan issue.

Representatives Tom Garrett (R-VA) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) have introduced bipartisan legislation to exclude marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, thus leaving states the authority to regulate the plant how best they see fit.

Should be interesting to see how many Republicans get behind this.  I'd expect it to get near-unanimous support from state delegations where it's been legalized and possible majority support from the Freedom Caucus. I don't think every Democrat will vote for it, but I think this has a real chance at getting passed. Fingers crossed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastert_Rule

A slowly dying tradition.

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Congress gives Sessions $0 to go after states with medical marijuana laws (Rohrabacher-Farr amendment)

Just a question since I haven't really followed marijuana legalization too closely.

The legalization of recreational marijuana in California is kind of a big deal for the legalization effort right?

California is the world's 6th largest economy, so legalization there is bound to have a massive financial impact on the marijuana industry and California itself. I mean, I've seen some estimates that put the tax revenue gained by this measure in the billions. Not to mention the indirect benefits of reduced criminal justice costs, increased tourism, and jobs.

Isn't this a death knell to the prohibition movement? The effects of legalization in California are going reverberate throughout the country, no?

I would think that's a good analysis, yes.  I'm not sure what the status of California's industry is right now.  (Is it even legal yet?)  But if California is anywhere near as successful as Colorado was, weed will be a very, very difficult thing to touch.

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Scott will announce his decision tomorrow (well, today).  I'll be disappointed if he vetoes, but I don't think it will mean a whole lot either way.  If he signs it, you're probably not going to see a bunch of pot shops open up next year in Vermont because it doesn't really provide a legal framework for sales to operate under.  It only "de-illegalizes" and opens up a commission to study the effects of a regulated marijuana market.  If he vetoes it, then we can probably expect a full legalization bill the next time a Democratic governor is elected.

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Kind of what I was expecting, really.  Scott told the legislature to toughen penalties for stoned driving and giving pot to children, and fund more for regulation and education.  So it ain't over yet.

EDIT: VT legislature doesn't convene until January.  Ugh.

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Also it's interesting that Scott is to the left of Andrew Cuomo on this issue.  But that's Vermont for you.

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Kind of what I was expecting, really.  Scott told the legislature to toughen penalties for stoned driving and giving pot to children, and fund more for regulation and education.  So it ain't over yet.

EDIT: VT legislature doesn't convene until January.  Ugh.

I don't get why they couldn't have just done that from the start. Now, granted, I don't exactly know what Gov. Scott meant by "toughen penalties" for those two things, but it doesn't sound unreasonable.

IIRC the bill itself was a compromised version of a more ambitious proposal anyway.  Scott probably didn't want to be the one making the final call on this.

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Very true!

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Rosenstein talks down pot, suggests possible changes to the Cole memo in the future, Tom Wolf tells Sessions to back off.

Per Rosenstein: I don't know what "it’s a very complicated issue for us" means.  Probably more empty rhetoric since Congress has its finger on a lot of this and I don't think they have the appetite to sue the states they represent.

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As of midnight (Nevada time), marijuana is officially legal in the state.

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Decriminalization signed in New Hampshire

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Illinois is holding hearings for legalization proposals with two bills introduced in the House and Senate

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Weed is now officially legal in California.  Congrats to all the CA posters!

     

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Weed is now officially legal in California.  Congrats to all the CA posters!

     

Shockingly, not much has changed here. Here in SoCal, the only places that had dispensaries opened today were Palm Springs, Cathedral City, San Diego, and Santa Ana. West Hollywood starts selling by Wednesday, Los Angeles won't be giving out permits till later this month, and Moreno Valley will sell in the summer. For the time being, I gotta drive 45-60 minutes to find a permitted dispensary

Everywhere else has either completely banned it or is in "wait and see" mode. Hasn't stopped the existing/illegal medical dispensaries from opening their doors to everyone 21+ without a rec though

How can that be if it was legalized statewide?  Are city governments flat-out refusing to grant permits?

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Sessions rescinding Cole Memo

This is not good news.

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Vermont House passes bill to legalize pot. It now has to be approved by the State Senate, the Governor has already said he'll sign it

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/government/2018/01/04/vermont-house-vote-marijuana-legalization-thursday/1003206001/

Doesn't sound like the US Attorney there has any plans to stop it.  This is good.

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