dnewsome2
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It is not funny how all my life marijuana was a horrible crime and anyone involved needed to be locked in prison. Yet all of the sudden they realize they can make tons of money and maybe it is okay. This whole thing is just a ploy to get your money. Anytime you submit to paying for a card or some type of permission slip they have won. I say All Growers and users should band together and tell them to stick their cards where the sun don't shine. Either it is okay or it is not, make up your fucking mind. If you don't like it you can kiss my ass and suck my fucking balls.By now, many have seen the headlines: "White House Spokesman Predicts More Federal Action Against Marijuana" (NPR), "White House: Feds will step up marijuana law enforcement" (CNN), "Marijuana entrepreneurs try to stay calm after Spicer comments on weed" (CNBC). It is hard to believe a minute and a half out of an hour-long press briefing could cause so much commotion.
Let's examine what White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer actually said. He essentially said two things. He distinguished medical marijuana from adult use, and he believes "you'll see greater enforcement" of the Controlled Substance Act against recreational use.
Mr. Spicer did not say there were any imminent actions from the U.S. Department of Justice, the agency charged with enforcing federal law. In fact, he said the question of enforcement would be better addressed by the DOJ itself. Mr. Spicer was stating what he believes.
Here's what I believe. I believe Mr. Spicer's acknowledgement that the president supports state's rights when it comes to medical marijuana is a positive development. Mr. Spicer also referenced the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment, first passed in 2014, which currently prohibits the federal government from prosecuting medical marijuana in states where it is legal.
"The president understands the pain and suffering that many people go through who are facing especially terminal diseases and the comfort that some of these drugs, including medical marijuana, can bring to them," Mr. Spicer said.
So at least on the question of medical marijuana, there seems to be broad consensus. Medical marijuana is now legal in 28 states and accounts for about three quarters of the burgeoning legal cannabis industry.
"Americans are realizing that prohibition has not stemmed consumption and only served to enrich drug cartels and unfairly imprison millions of people."
But here's the thing. Mr. Spicer's opinion notwithstanding, there is growing consensus on adult use as well. The majority of Americans support full legalization. The number of states that have approved legalized recreational adult use doubled last November to eight, including my home state of California, the nation's most populous state.
Americans are realizing that prohibition has not stemmed consumption and only served to enrich drug cartels and unfairly imprison millions of people. Whether you are for or against adult use, more and more people are realizing that the better path is to have a well-regulated industry, much like alcohol is today. It is safer for consumers, it is safer for the public, not to mention it creates tax revenue and jobs.
A week before Mr. Spicer spoke, something even more significant for the cannabis industry happened, but it didn't get as much notice as the White House press briefing. A bipartisan group of congressional leaders announced the formation of the first ever Congressional Cannabis Caucus. The founders, U.S. representatives Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), Don Young (R-Alaska), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.), vowed to sponsor and pass federal laws that protect states' rights on cannabis issues, including adult use.
Mr. Rohrabacher, a long-time advocate of marijuana causes, earlier introduced the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act, which would amend the Controlled Substances Act to prohibit federal prosecution of marijuana buyers and sellers who comply with state laws.
Elsewhere in Congress, prominent legislators like U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have called for further reform, including clearer banking regulations and tax laws for the legal cannabis industry.
In the long-term, I see momentum building in favor of full legalization. Congress and the American people are on the right side of this issue, and we fully expect that the rest of the federal government will follow suit.
To Along With The Above...............
White House: Feds will step up marijuana law enforcement
The White House said Thursday it expects law enforcement agents to enforce federal marijuana laws when they come into conflict with states where recreational use of the drug is permitted.
"I do believe you will see greater enforcement of it," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said regarding federal drug laws, which still list marijuana as an illegal substance.
That's a reversal from the Obama administration's stance, which laid out in an official memo that the federal government wouldn't interfere in states where nonmedical use of marijuana is allowed.
That guidance was issued after two states -- Colorado and Washington -- voted to legalize recreational use of marijuana. Obama said in the immediate aftermath of those votes that the federal government had "bigger fish to fry" than cracking down on marijuana use in states where it's considered legal.
Most drug enforcement operations are carried out by state and local authorities, with little involvement by the federal government. Enforcing marijuana laws has been considered a lower priority for federal drug agents, who have remained focused on curbing narcotics trafficking and combating a nationwide epidemic of opioid abuse.
Spicer on Thursday, however, linked marijuana use with the widespread abuse of painkillers, suggesting that allowing recreational use of marijuana could be interpreted as condoning drug use more widely.
"When you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we should be doing is encouraging people," Spicer said. "There is still a federal law that we need to abide by when it comes to recreational marijuana and drugs of that nature."
He was careful to distinguish between use of medical marijuana and recreational marijuana. President Donald Trump, he said, understood that marijuana could help ease suffering for patients with terminal illnesses.
Trump took varying positions on marijuana during his campaign for president. He said during remarks in June 2015 that legal recreational use was "bad," adding he felt "strongly about it."
But later that year he suggested the issue should be decided by individual states and not by the federal government.
"In terms of marijuana and legalization, I think that should be a state issue, state-by-state," he said in Nevada in October 2015.
He's remained staunchly supportive of medical marijuana, telling Fox News host Bill O'Reilly he was "in favor of medical marijuana 100%."
"I know people that have serious problems and they did that they really -- it really does help them," he said.
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