XPost: alt.drugs.pot, alt.hemp.politics, rec.drugs.cannabis
From: bliss@mouse-potato.com

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1005 -- 1/11/18
Phillip S. Smith, Editor,psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1005

A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director,borden@drcnet.org
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"

Table of Contents:

1. AMERICA DECLARES WAR ON JEFF SESSIONS' THREATENED WAR ON MARIJUANA
[FEATURE]
The attorney general may have done us a favor by heightening the
contradictions of federal marijuana prohibition. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jan/06/america_declares_war_jeff

2. VERMONT LEGISLATURE APPROVES NONCOMMERCIAL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION BILL
The measure would allow the possession and cultivation of small amounts
of marijuana, but not legal stores. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jan/10/vermont_legislature_approves

3. ALERT: TRUMP IS PROMOTING SAVAGE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN COUNTRIES'
DRUG WARS
Words from the US president make a global impact, and some of Trump's
words about the drug war have been among the worst. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jan/10/alert_trump_promoting_savage

4. ALERT: SAVE MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION
Jeff Sessions is trying to turn back marijuana legalization and even
medical marijuana. Don't let him do it. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jan/10/alert_save_marijuana

5. MEDICAL MARIJUANA UPDATE
An effort to undo racial inequities faces a challenge in Ohio,
Oklahomans will go to the polls to vote for medical marijuana in June,
three members of the Kettle Falls Five win a major court victory, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jan/10/medical_marijuana_update

6. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A state prison guard, a small town cop, and an Arkansas prosecutor's investigator all go down. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jan/10/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

7. CHRONICLE AM: SESSIONS OPENS DOOR TO RENEWED FEDERAL WAR ON
MARIJUANA, MORE... (1/4/18)
It took him a year, but Attorney General Sessions has now torn up the
Cole memo, opening the way for a renewed federal war on marijuana.
Vermont legislators are advancing a legalization bill anyway, New York's governor calls for criminal justice reforms, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jan/04/chronicle_am_sessions_opens_door

8. CHRONICLE AM: AG'S POT MOVE SPARKS OUTRAGE, VT HOUSE VOTES TO
LEGALIZE, MORE... (1/5/18)
The attorney general's war on marijuana proves unpopular, marijuana
proves popular (again), Vermont moves forward on a legalization bill,
and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jan/05/chronicle_am_ags_pot_move_sparks

9. CHRONICLE AM: TRUMP TOUTS "VERY HARSH" DRUG POLICIES, CA MARIJUANA "SANCTUARY STATE" BILL, MORE... (1/8/17)
A California lawmaker revives his marijuana sanctuary state bill,
President Trump lauds "very harsh" drug policies, Mexico's
prohibition-related violence continues, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jan/08/chronicle_am_trump_touts_very

10. CHRONICLE AM: NH HOUSE PASSES MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION, CO SAFE
INJECTION SITE SOUGHT, MORE... (1/9/18)
Attorney General Sessions' announcement last week of a possible renewed
war on marijuana continues to reverberate, the New Hampshire House
passes a bill to legalize possession and cultivation, but not sales;
Colorado lawmakers want a safe injection site as part of their response
to the opioid crisis, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jan/09/chronicle_am_nh_house_passes

11. CHRONICLE AM: VT LAWMAKERS APPROVE MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION, US
PRISONER NUMBERS DROP AGAIN, MORE... (1/10/18)
Vermont is just a governor's signature away from becoming the first
state to legalize weed at the statehouse, Maine stakeholders reach
agreement on a legalization implementation bill, the US prisoner
population declines for the third straight year, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jan/10/chronicle_am_vt_lawmakers

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================

1. AMERICA DECLARES WAR ON JEFF SESSIONS' THREATENED WAR ON MARIJUANA
[FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jan/06/america_declares_war_jeff

This article was produced in collaboration with AlterNet and first
appeared here (https://www.alternet.org/drugs/america-declares-war-jeff-sessions-threatened-war-weed).

With his announcement that he is freeing federal prosecutors to go after marijuana operations in states where it is legal, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has excited strong bipartisan opposition -- splitting the
Republicans, providing a potential opening for Democrats in the 2018
elections, and energizing supporters of just ending marijuana
prohibition once and for all.

On Thursday, after a year of dilly-dallying, the fervently
anti-marijuana Sessions declared that he was rescinding Obama-era
guidance to federal prosecutors which basically told them to keep their
hands off marijuana operations that were acting in compliance with state
laws. The move not only puts Sessions at odds with public opinion, it
also puts the lie to President Trump's campaign position that marijuana
policy was best left to the states (http://www.politifact.com/california/statements/2017/feb/28/gavin-newsom/true-campaign-trump-said-states-should-decide-lega/).

With legalization of marijuana enjoying consistent majority support in
opinion polls -- a Pew poll released Friday put support at 61% (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/05/americans-support-marijuana-legalization/)
-- the blowback has been immediate, fierce, and across the board.
Feeling particularly vulnerable, legal pot state Republicans howled
especially loudly.

Republican Howls

"I am obligated to the people of Colorado to take all steps necessary to protect the state of Colorado and their rights," said Sen. Cory Gardner
(R-CO) (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/us/politics/trump-marijuana-policy-bipartisan-fire.html),
taking to the Senate floor to announce his amazement and dismay at the
move. He threatened to block all Justice Department nominees until
Sessions relents.

Gardner, who has been a staunch Trump supporter, said that both Trump
and Sessions had assured him before he voted to confirm Sessions as
attorney general that going after legal marijuana in the states was not
a priority. He wasn't happy with the turnabout.

Neither was another Republican legal pot state senator, Lisa Murkowski
of Alaska. In a statement released Thursday afternoon, she said she had repeatedly urged Sessions to leave legal weed alone. His move Thursday
was "regrettable and divisive," she said.

Maine is about to become a legal marijuana state -- if the Sessions move doesn't throw a wrench in the works (http://www.pressherald.com/2018/01/04/u-s-to-end-obama-era-policy-that-lets-legal-marijuana-flourish/)
-- leaving Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who supported Sessions'
nomination, walking a tight-rope.

While Collins acknowledges the medical uses of marijuana, according to
her spokesperson, Christopher Knight, "there is considerable scientific
and medical evidence of the detrimental impact that marijuana can have
on the brain development of otherwise healthy teenagers," Knight said, according the the Press Herald (http://www.pressherald.com/2018/01/04/u-s-to-end-obama-era-policy-that-lets-legal-marijuana-flourish/).
"Congress and the Department of Justice should review the Controlled
Substances Act, which generally prohibits growing, distributing or using marijuana, in light of current medical evidence as well as actions taken
by states."

Marijuana should be "a states' rights issue," said Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) (http://www.newsweek.com/republicans-still-believe-states-rights-marijuana-policy-772611),
who doesn't represent a legal marijuana state, but has long been a
proponent of drug law reform. "The federal government has better things
to focus on."

Another leading Trump ally, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), doesn't represent a
legal pot state, but he does represent a medical marijuana state. He's
not happy, either, calling the move "heartless and cold." (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/us/politics/trump-marijuana-policy-bipartisan-fire.html)
Sessions' move "shows his desire to pursue an antiquated, disproven
dogma instead of the will of the American people. He should focus his
energies on prosecuting criminals, not patients."

And that's from friends of the administration. The Democrats,
unsurprisingly, are even harsher.

Democratic Growls

Congressional Democrats were quick to pounce on what they correctly
perceived as an opening to attack Trump and Sessions on an issue where
the public is not on their side. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA),
whose state just began the legal sale of recreational marijuana this
week, led the way.

"Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision bulldozes over the will of the American people and insults the democratic process under which
majorities of voters in California and in states across the nation
supported decriminalization at the ballot box," Pelosi said (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/us/politics/trump-marijuana-policy-bipartisan-fire.html).
"Yet again, Republicans expose their utter hypocrisy in paying lip
service to states' rights while trampling over laws they personally
dislike."

Pelosi and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said they would attempt to block
Sessions by extending a current ban on Justice Department funding to go
after medical marijuana in states where it is legal. But that would not
protect the legalization states.

Other legalization state Democrats were also quick to go on the
offensive and happy to throw the "states' rights" issue in the face of Republicans.

"It is absurd that Attorney General Sessions has broken Trump's campaign promise and is now waging war on legal marijuana and states' rights,"
said Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) (https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398515),
cochair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus. "The growing Colorado
economy is in jeopardy with the news that the Attorney General will now
go after states that have decided to regulate marijuana. The Trump Administration needs to back off, and allow marijuana to be treated like alcohol under the law. At stake is a growing industry that has created
23,000 jobs and generated $200 million in tax revenue in Colorado. I'm
calling on President Trump to overrule Attorney General Sessions and
protect consumers, our economy, the will of the voters, and states' rights."

"Trump promised to let states set their own marijuana policies," charged
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/jeff-sessions-marijuana-reversal-brings-swift-bipartisan-condemnation-w514983).
"Now he's breaking that promise so Jeff Sessions can pursue his
extremist anti-marijuana crusade." Wyden is demanding that any budget negotiations must include protection for legal marijuana states. "Any
budget deal," Wyden said, "must... prevent the federal government from intruding in state-legal, voter-supported decisions."

That's just a representative sample of statements from congressional
Democrats, who see the Sessions move as an enormous political gift.
California House Republicans, for example, were already facing an uphill
battle this year, thanks to Trump's unpopularity in the state. With a Republican administration messing with legal marijuana in the Golden
State, they could go extinct in November (https://www.rawstory.com/2018/01/14-california-republicans-at-risk-of-losing-their-house-seats-due-to-trumps-unpopularity-wall-street-journal/).

State Officials Stand Up to Washington

It isn't just politicians in Washington who are taking umbrage with
Sessions. Across the legal marijuana states, elected officials are
standing up to stick up for the will of the voters.

"As we have told the Department of Justice ever since I-502 was passed
in 2012, we will vigorously defend our state's laws against undue
federal infringement," said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) (https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/washington-state-vows-to-defend-cannabi). "In Washington state we have put a system in place that adheres to what
we pledged to the people of Washington and the federal government. We
are going to keep doing that and overseeing the well-regulated market
that Washington voters approved."

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, a former US attorney herself, said Seattle
police wouldn't cooperate in any crackdown: "Federal law enforcement
will find no partner with Seattle to enforce the rollback of these
provisions," she said. "Let's be clear: Our Seattle Police Department
will not participate in any enforcement action related to legal
businesses or small personal possession of marijuana by adults," she
said in a statement. "Federal law enforcement will find no partner with
Seattle to enforce the rollback of these provisions."

Calling Sessions' move "deeply concerning and disruptive," Oregon Gov.
Kathleen Brown (D) told the feds to back right off (http://www.oregon.gov/newsroom/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?newsid=2499).
"States are the laboratories of democracy, where progressive policies
are developed and implemented for the benefit of their people," she
said. "Voters in Oregon were clear when they chose for Oregon to
legalize the sale of marijuana and the federal government should not
stand in the way of the will of Oregonians. My staff and state agencies
are working to evaluate reports of the Attorney General's decision and
will fight to continue Oregon's commitment to a safe and prosperous recreational marijuana market."

Similar notes were heard from California.

"Akin to the ill-conceived positions the Trump Administration has
adopted on so many important public policy topics during the past year, Attorney General Session's decision today is out of step with the will
of the people of not only California, but the 29 states that have
legalized either or both medicinal and recreational-use cannabis," said California Treasurer John Chiang (http://www.oc-breeze.com/2018/01/05/115452_statement-california-treasurer-john-chiang-justice-departments-rescission-obama-era-cannabis-policy/).
"The action taken by Attorney General Sessions threatens us with new
national divisiveness and casts into turmoil a newly established
industry that is creating jobs and tax revenues. Until the slow,
clunking machinery of the federal government catches up with the values
and will of the people it purportedly serves, states -- like California

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