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MJ - State Govs Ask Feds To Maintain Status Quo
Posted by CN Staff on April 04, 2017 at 13:23:22 PT
By Reid Wilson
Source: Hill
Washington, D.C. -- Four governors of states where voters have legalized marijuana for recreational use are asking the Trump administration to leave in place an Obama-era agreement that gave exemptions to the legal pot industry.In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the governors asked the Justice Department to maintain a 2013 agreement, known as the Cole Memo, and guidance issued by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
The Cole Memo, named for former Deputy Attorney General James Cole, laid out priorities for federal prosecutors in states where marijuana had been legalized for recreational use. The memo advises prosecutors to avoid strict enforcement of federal prohibitions on marijuana, in deference to state law.“Overhauling the Cole Memo is sure to produce unintended and harmful consequences,” the governors wrote. “Changes that hurt the regulated market would divert existing marijuana product into the black market and increase dangerous activity in both our states and our neighboring states.”The letter was signed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) and Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I).The FinCEN guidance lays out criteria under which financial institutions can provide services to marijuana-related businesses. Because federal law still considers marijuana a banned substance, many major banks are reluctant or refuse to do business with the marijuana industry. That has led some businesses to operate largely in cash, raising concerns about safety and crime, concerns the FinCEN guidance is meant to alleviate.“Without the FinCEN guidance, financial institutions will be less willing to provide services to marijuana-related businesses. This would force industry participants to be even more cash reliant, posing safety risks both to the public and to state regulators conducting enforcement activity,” they wrote.The Trump administration has offered mixed messages, and no clear guidance, on its plans for marijuana regulation. Sessions is a marijuana hard-liner who once joked he objected to the Ku Klux Klan because they smoked pot. But during the presidential race, Trump said he was inclined to leave marijuana regulation up to the states.In interviews with The Hill, governors in states where marijuana is legal have voiced concern that their states may be subject to federal lawsuits or crackdowns by federal agents. Most governors of states where pot is legal, including Hickenlooper and Inslee, opposed the ballot measures when they come up, though they now say their voters have spoken.Hickenlooper and Inslee both told The Hill they would seek meetings with federal officials to clarify the administration’s position on state-level marijuana legalization.“I took an oath to support the constitution of Colorado,” Hickenlooper told The Hill last month. “I want to make sure that we have a discussion about it. I’ll come back, we’ll try to set a meeting up.”Other state officials have said they would consider legal action to defend their laws in case of a federal crackdown. In an interview, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) defended the Cole Memo.“In an imperfect system, the Cole Memo has worked. States that have legalized marijuana I think have worked hard to adhere to the Cole Memo,” Ferguson said. “States like Washington have legal tools to resist [a federal crackdown], in the same way we have legal tools to resist the executive travel ban.”Source: Hill, The (US DC)Author: Reid WilsonPublished: April 4, 2017Copyright: 2017 The HillContact: editor thehill.comWebsite: http://www.hillnews.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/MTiaGnqsCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on April 05, 2017 at 09:59:15 PT
New Holland
yes, we could have been New Amsterdam, but the British Empire had a way of getting what they want. I'm actually part Dutch, my grandmother's name was "Miller" which turns out was adapted from Ducth "Mueller" in the 1800's.
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Comment #2 posted by HempWorld on April 04, 2017 at 18:56:57 PT
Hey Sam! About New Jersey roots:
From Wikipedia: New Jersey used to be New Netherland..."The Dutch became the first Europeans to lay claim to lands in New Jersey. The Dutch colony of New Netherland consisted of parts of modern Middle Atlantic states. Although the European principle of land ownership was not recognized by the Lenape, Dutch West India Company policy required its colonists to purchase the land that they settled. The first to do so was Michiel Pauw who established a patronship called Pavonia in 1630 along the North River which eventually became the Bergen. Peter Minuit's purchase of lands along the Delaware River established the colony of New Sweden. The entire region became a territory of England on June 24, 1664, after an English fleet under the command of Colonel Richard Nicolls sailed into what is today New York Harbor and took control of Fort Amsterdam, annexing the entire province."Yeah, by force the English took it over NY and all of it until the civil war! Sailed up the Hudson river with 3 warships and demanded New Amsterdam became (anal retentive and racist) New York!
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on April 04, 2017 at 17:40:40 PT
good article
To farmers, cannabis could mean much bigger bucks than tomatoesTed Dobson and other small farmers like him are hoping to be growers for MassachusettsŐ recreational marijuana program. Do they stand a chance?https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2017/04/04/farmers-cannabis-could-mean-much-bigger-bucks-than-tomatoes/mVrlYgz3hQawDHVgQFvamL/story.htmlThe brisk February wind tousling his brown curly hair, Ted Dobson stands in the middle of his 15-acre Equinox Farm in Sheffield. This is where heŐs made a name for himself as one of the first organic farmers in Western Massachusetts and a pioneer in the trendy salad greens business, where he cultivates the mesclun, mustard, and Swiss chard that end up at big-name restaurants in Boston and New York. This is where, on a nice summerŐs day when the farm is pulsing with energy, he says to himself: ŇThis is your life, man. Good plan.Ó This is also where an unusually rainy month or excessively dry summer can mean the loss of tens of thousands of dollars in sales.And this is where he aims to add a new crop to his rotation: cannabis. ŇI want to diversify,Ó he says with a thoughtful drawl that belies his New Jersey roots. ŇThis is just another green I want in the mix.Ó
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