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  Marijuana Industry Fears If Sessions Is Confirmed
Posted by CN Staff on January 10, 2017 at 05:43:25 PT
By Debra Borchardt 
Source: Forbes 

cannabis Washington, D.C. -- The marijuana industry will be listening intently to the confirmation hearings for Jeff Sessions for attorney general on Tuesday morning. While many people are focused on Sessions past positions on civil rights, the cannabis companies are very concerned that this marijuana critic could put the brakes on the legalization of marijuana.

Even though Sessions comes to the hearings with heavy baggage, the general consensus is that he will get confirmed. If he does get confirmed, then the industry will be watching to see whether President-elect Trump, who is generally in favor of states rights, will convince Sessions to his way of thinking or whether Sessions will be given a green light to pursue his anti-marijuana agenda.

“The rumor I've heard is that they will be cracking down with DC first,” said Adam Eidinger Co-founder of DCMJ, the group behind the legalization efforts in Washington DC. “That a large number of dispensaries are going to get shut down straight up, shut down by the DEA six months from now.” Eidinger added, “Then all the states that legalized are going to get letters saying 'No, don't do it.'”

Eidinger's plan to protest is by rallying his marijuana troops to hand out free marijuana joints at the inauguration. A move that he acknowledges has irritated some cannabis business leaders. “It's lawful to share marijuana in DC, but not sell it. It's also against the law to smoke in public, but we plan to force a tolerant position on the new administration.”

Eidinger garnered a lot of attention last year by showing up to Sessions office with marijuana and were pleased they weren't arrested. “Anyone who believes Jeff Sessions isn't messing around, that he's not going to crack down and turn down the whole medical marijuana industry are missing the point. There's no reason to believe he won't do that.”

Medical cannabis group Americans for Safe Access executive director Steph Sherer said, "Many medical cannabis patients and their families supported his (Trump's) candidacy because they believed he would be better on this issue than his opponent. However, the nomination of Jeff Sessions as the next Attorney General of the United States is a tremendous cause for concern to medical cannabis patients and their families."

National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith seemed resigned to the confirmation saying, "Voters in 28 states have chosen programs that shift cannabis from the criminal market to highly regulated, tax-paying businesses. Senator Sessions has long advocated for state sovereignty, and we look forward to working with him to ensure that states' rights and voter choices on cannabis are respected."

Sessions submitted answers to the Senate Judiciary Questionnaire that are apparently lacking hundreds of entries. Senator Dianne Feinstein had urged that the hearing be delayed until the questionnaire was complete, but that didn't happen. For example, clips to speeches that are easily found online are not included. There are no records of speeches past June 2016 and there is no mention in the questionnaire that he was rejected for a judgeship in 1986.

The marijuana industry may be on pins and needles watching the hearing, but with civil rights leaders and sexual assault survivors equally concerned about Sessions, there may be little time to discuss cannabis issues. The nomination hearings begin at 9:30am eastern time at the Russell Senate Office Building 325.

Source: Forbes Magazine (US)
Author: Debra Borchardt
Published: January 10, 2017
Copyright: 2017 Forbes Inc.
Contact: readers@forbes.com
Website: http://www.forbes.com/
URL: http://drugsense.org/url/hWOBy6ht

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Comment #10 posted by FoM on January 10, 2017 at 20:17:16 PT
Crazy Breaking News on Trump
Check out The NYT and WP.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #9 posted by FoM on January 10, 2017 at 20:16:04 PT
Sam Adams
He looks like the crazy Doctor I think he was in The Burbs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Gibson

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #8 posted by Sam Adams on January 10, 2017 at 18:00:00 PT
Sessions
is it just me, or does he look like the Illinois Nazi guy in "Blues Brothers"?

he would look good in a full SS Gestapo uniform. Starting to wonder how bad things can become here in the USA. It's sort of like Russia in the early 90's where the entire economy and wealth of the country was taken by a handful of politically connected families.

Putin owns the nation oil company. Now our Secretary of State is Exxon/Mobil. We're already more brutally fascist than Russia in many ways.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #7 posted by FoM on January 10, 2017 at 14:01:23 PT
More on Sessions
As AG, Jeff Sessions Likely To Reverse Recent Progress on Pot

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/ag-jeff-sessions-likely-reverse-recent-progress-pot

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #6 posted by FoM on January 10, 2017 at 13:53:03 PT
Jeff Sessions: Won't Commit To Obama Policy
Jeff Sessions On Marijuana: Won't Commit To Obama Policy

http://patch.com/maine/augusta/jeff-sessions-marijuana

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #5 posted by Hope on January 10, 2017 at 13:14:09 PT
Well...
What do you'll think about that?

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #4 posted by Hope on January 10, 2017 at 11:53:55 PT
Nope...
I just saw something cross his face that might make me rethink, "Liking" him.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #3 posted by Hope on January 10, 2017 at 11:51:36 PT
But.... Big But!
I've been distracted from it by duties... I could have missed something.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #2 posted by Hope on January 10, 2017 at 11:50:31 PT
So far...
If I didn't know better about some of his attitudes, I'd like him well enough.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #1 posted by Hope on January 10, 2017 at 11:00:14 PT
Sessions hearing live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRBnF11Kplk

[ Post Comment ]

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