One Toke Over the Line with Trump and Sessions

Attorney General Jeff Sessions had little to celebrate on the annual marijuana holiday this week. President Donald Trump has not said much to back him up on the issue, leaving Sessions as a lone voice in the federal wilderness. He has opined that medical marijuana has been “hyped,” and he doubles down at every available opportunity on beefing up enforcement against the Schedule 1 drug, even though many states and localities have taken off in a completely different direction. With too many balls already in the air, administration officials are positioned to have another one conk them on their collective head.

For one thing, Sessions is simply too late: A number of states have already decided the marijuana question. Any federal move to crack down on recreational users or medical marijuana patients and their suppliers users would be met with a blowback similar to, if not even more vociferous than, the recent grassroots uproar over the effort to repeal Obamacare. It would be very difficult for the Justice Department and the White House to quell the public protests across the political spectrum that would likely ensue.

Moreover, the additional tax revenues flowing into state coffers courtesy of the evil weed in states like Colorado and Washington state cannot be ignored. Sin taxes are ones that state and local politicians and their constituents can embrace. Legal marijuana states could take nearly $700 million in state taxes on retail sales in 2017. If the Trump administration tries to kill off this cash crop, the Justice Department can expect to find itself tied up in lawsuits on multiple fronts.

On the medical side of the ledger, people from suffering from debilitating diseases or chronic conditions can consume the drug in peace and no longer have to worry about arrest when trying to obtain marijuana for themselves or loved ones. Unlike recreational marijuana, medical marijuana has been legalized in every region of the country—as well as in states that Trump carried, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio.

http://prospect.org/article/one-toke-over-line-trump-and-sessions