4 Ways Washington Can Still Subvert The Will Of Voters On Cannabis Reforms
Cannabisis winning in the polls, with a solid majority of Americans saying marijuana should be legal. But does that mean the federal government will let dozens of state marijuanaexperiments play out? Not by a long shot.
The government still has many means to slow or stop the marijuana train. And President-elect Donald Trumps nomination of Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions to be the next attorney general has raised fears that the new administration could crack down on weed-tolerant states 20 years after California became the first to legalize medical marijuana.
"We need grown-ups in charge in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized. It ought not to be minimized, that its in fact a very real danger," Sessions said during an April Senate hearing.
The Controlled Substances Act bans pot even for medical purposes. A closer look at some of the governments options for enforcing it:
1. Take 'em to court
The government rarely invokes its authority to sue states, but its the quickest path to compliance. The Justice Department could file lawsuits on the grounds that state laws regulating cannabisare unconstitutional because they are pre-empted by federal law.
Something similar happened in 2010, when the Justice Department successfully sued Arizona to block an immigration law that conflicted with federal immigration law.
Federal courts can also compel action, not just block it, as in Kentucky last year, when a county clerk was ordered to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following a landmark Supreme Court ruling.
Twenty-eight states and Washington, D.C., allow marijuana for medical or recreational purposes. The government has yet to sue any of them.
2. Raid Cannabis Businesses
The government could avoid court entirely if it doesnt mind a more expensive option: law-enforcement raids.
The Drug Enforcement Administration retains the legal ability to shut down anyone selling or growing marijuana, but there has been no coordinated federal attempt to close cannabisproducers in multiple states. The agency has said repeatedly that it does not have the resources to pursue ordinary marijuanausers.
Any change in that approach would likely require more money from Congress, which just saw many of its constituents vote in favour of legalization. And a federal agency probably will not spend limited resources busting people growing marijuanafor personal use, said John McKay, a former U.S. attorney in Washington state.
"Who is going to stop people from smoking pot in a residence in Denver? Federal agents?" he said. "They are going to stop doing terrorism investigations and start arresting people for pot? That, to me, is crazy."
Still, a series of raids could upend the marijuana landscape and chill investment in the fledgling industry.
3. Financial hurdles
Its the biggest complaint in the weed business: taxes.
Businesses selling marijuana cannot use tax breaks or incentives offered to other small businesses, and some of them say they pay 80 per cent or more of every dollar on taxes and fees. They have limited access to banking because many financial institutions are leery of the paperwork they are required to file on clients working with marijuana.
Colorado officials tried last year to ease the banking burden by setting up a special credit union to safely handle money from marijuana shops, only to see the Federal Reserve Bank and federal courts block the effort.
As long as Congress and the new administration leave those hurdles in place, the marijuana industrywill grow haltingly. Voters may generally support pot legalization, but few have sympathy for a pot entrepreneur unable to become a multimillionaire because of banking obstacles.
4. Stricter regulations
Government officials who ...
