Trump administration drops Obama-era easing of marijuana prosecutions

[sggatecl]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-justice-marijuana/trump-administration-drops-obama-era-easing-of-marijuana-prosecutions-idUSKBN1ET1MU

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday rescinded an Obama administration policy that had eased enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states that legalized the drug, instead giving federal prosecutors wide latitude to pursue criminal charges.

The action by Attorney General Jeff Sessions could have damaging consequences for the burgeoning marijuana industry in the six states including California and Colorado that have legalized the drug for recreational use, plus dozens of others that permit medicinal use.

Justice Department officials declined to say whether they might take legal action against those states, saying further steps were ?still under consideration.?

"Rah! Rah! State's rights!"

 

[tinselwolverine]

Well, what is going to be more fun and more interesting is how the FBI and DEA are going to interact with the state in law enforcement agencies where marijuana is legal under state law.

I don't think federal prosecutors are going to bring prosecutions against anybody who hasn't been arrested and charge by a law enforcement agency of the federal government.

 

[Michchamp]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-justice-marijuana/trump-administration-drops-obama-era-easing-of-marijuana-prosecutions-idUSKBN1ET1MU



"Rah! Rah! State's rights!"

"'DURRR STATE'S RIGHTS!' ... uh except for federal policies we like, then uh, remember different slogans. 'JUST SAY NO!' in this case."

 

[tomdalton22]

so if a company who grows weed legally in CA but sells it across state lines where it isn't legal...shouldn't the federal government be involved in prosecution? Isn't that their job?

 

[tinselwolverine]

so if a company who grows weed legally in CA but sells it across state lines where it isn't legal...shouldn't the federal government be involved in prosecution? Isn't that their job?

What company is doing that?

EDIT: The Obama Administration policy that Sessions overturned never had anything to do with the situation you described. The DEA would have always maintained jurisdiction in such a case.

 

[tinselwolverine]

"'DURRR STATE'S RIGHTS!' ... uh except for federal policies we like, then uh, remember different slogans. 'JUST SAY NO!' in this case."

Again...there aren't going to be federal prosecutions without arrests made and charges brought by federal law enforcement agents.

So are federal agents going to make arrests and bring charges absent of cooperation of local police and law enforcement?

EDIT: To me, this is just more "my button is bigger, and mine works" kind of thing...

 

[tomdalton22]

What company is doing that?

EDIT: The Obama Administration policy that Sessions overturned never had anything to do with the situation you described. The DEA would have always maintained jurisdiction in such a case.

I don't know. I was just coming up with a scenario where the feds would or should get involved.

 

[tinselwolverine]

I don't know. I was just coming up with a scenario where the feds would or should get involved.

See the edit in post five. The Obama policy never waived the DOJ's jurisdiction in such cases.

 

[turok]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-justice-marijuana/trump-administration-drops-obama-era-easing-of-marijuana-prosecutions-idUSKBN1ET1MU



"Rah! Rah! State's rights!"

The same as their quest to "shrink government down to the size where it could fit in a bathtub" so Grover Norquist could fulfull his wettest of wet dreams and drown it. The truth is moreso a reallowcation of govenment funds to rapidly benefit the 01%, big business, and the MIC. It also is time-delayed wealth redistribution and deprivation, by temporarily cutting taxes to most, then resume and increase them, once the next four election cycles have been completed.

However, the tax cuts are temporary, and are intentionally designed to manipulate and placate the portion of conservative voters who might otherwise become angry and maybe rebel by not voting, when none or few of the "jobs" part of the act materialize. The temporary cuts could easily and sooner be rescinded if, or better still, when the GOP attain two or more of the following desired scenarios: a supermajority in Congress, increase the number of RW SCJs to six or more, retain the Oval Office in the '20 election, increase the amount of Republican governorships to more than half, and majority control of state legislatures by over 2/3rds.

 

[tigermud]

I completely disagree with Sessions on this and I really wish trump would fire him.

 

[Michchamp]

I completely disagree with Sessions on this and I really wish trump would fire him.

with some spectacular exceptions, Trump has followed a standard GOP party platform , and the voting record in congress shows

except the looting and graft is more blatant and open now, and more or less acceptable by definition.

But by putting a sleazy career con man in office, that's not really a surprising outcome.

 

[tinselwolverine]

with some spectacular exceptions, Trump has followed a standard GOP party platform , and the voting record in congress shows

I kind of see it this way too, and I've noticed that a number of the Sunday morning talking heads have made the same observation.

If we manage to survive for two more weeks, Trump will have been office for a full year without the world coming to an end.

 

[Michchamp]

I kind of see it this way too, and I've noticed that a number of the Sunday morning talking heads have made the same observation.

If we manage to survive for two more weeks, Trump will have been office for a full year without the world coming to an end.

it hasn't come to an end, but it's gotten shittier.

 

[turok]

it hasn't come to an end, but it's gotten shittier.

The poster-child for Dunning-Kruger effect.

 

[tinselwolverine]

it hasn't come to an end, but it's gotten shittier.

Oh.

I thought you meant within the context of the Democrat to Republican parabolic center.

Then, yes...

For liberals, it's gotten shittier.

For conservatives, it's gotten better.

For everyone else, not much has changed.

Not really.

 

[tigermud]

I don’t think things have gotten shitter over the last year, overall I think things have gotten much better over the last year...now here is a really scary thought...I’m hearing the dems are slobbering over a Joe Bama ticket..not BO but MO! That could be really catchy with the younger gen joebama! Ugggg but we’ll worry about that later on down the road who ya gunna vote joe bama

 

[tigermud]

Agree

SESSIONS MADE ‘CATACLYSMIC MISTAKE’ WITH MARIJUANA POLICY CHANGE

Trump has said he supports state’s rights when it comes to marijuana

https://www.infowars.com/roger-stone-sessions-made-cataclysmic-mistake-with-marijuana-policy-change/

 

[tinselwolverine]

Agree

SESSIONS MADE ?CATACLYSMIC MISTAKE? WITH MARIJUANA POLICY CHANGE

Trump has said he supports state?s rights when it comes to marijuana

https://www.infowars.com/roger-stone-sessions-made-cataclysmic-mistake-with-marijuana-policy-change/

That is some pretty funny shit.

Maybe I should start paying more attention to both Mother Jones and her crazy son Alex.

 

[Spartanmack]

Isn't this what the federal government is supposed to do - enforce federal law? I don't really care whether pot is legalized or not, at least in theory. I'm sure in practice it will be a shitshow like just about everything else the government does. I wish we had a good lawyer who posted here to explain this (perhaps someday) but doesn't the supremacy clause say that federal law trumps state law? And doesn't the executive branch have an obligation to enforce the law and not pick and choose which laws to enforce? So even if this is a state's rights issue, isn't the proper course to change federal law rather than the executive branch choosing whether or not to enforce it?

Also, lets not pretend like the Obama administration decided this was a state's law issue and just didn't enforce federal law. They just did it in a far more cowardly and underhanded way by sicking the IRS on marijuana producers/distributors. Maybe they didn't arrest and prosecute drug manufacturers and dealers as criminals, but they hit 'em where it hurts with massive tax bills, penalties and interest.

 

[tinselwolverine]

The DEA and the FDA have collectively had the legal authority to re-classify the schedule of marijuana as a narcotic under an act of Congress that goes back to the 1970s.

I think it's going to fun to watch Sessions stepping on his own dick trying to enforce these laws without the cooperation of state and local law enforcement.

Congress could easily bail him out with a change in the federal law.