January 14th, 2018
Weekend News Recap
Q Poll: Americans Oppose Sessions’ Bid To Crack Down on Pot-Happy States
A majority of Americans believe marijuana use should be made legal, and that federal laws criminalizing the drug should not be enforced in states that have legalized its medical or recreational use, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday.
The poll comes just one week after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions unraveled Obama-era guidelines instructing federal agencies to defer to states’ policies on marijuana. Sessions, an avowed opponent of legal pot, authorized federal prosecutors to crack down on marijuana as they see fit, including in states that have legalized the drug. By federal law, marijuana is a Schedule I drug, the most dangerous designation.
In Thursday’s poll… Read More.
Girl, 11, Can Use Medical Marijuana at School: Judge
An 11-year-old suburban Chicago elementary school student who suffered from leukemia can now use medicinal marijuana at school, a federal judge ruled Friday.
The girl’s parents sued a Schaumburg-based school district and the state of Illinois for her to have the right to take medical marijuana at school to treat her seizure disorders.
The plaintiffs of the federal lawsuit, who are identified by initials, contended the state’s ban on taking the drug at school is unconstitutional. They said it denies the right to due process and violates the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Read More.
Will Trump Divert Funds From Anti-Terrorism To Close Pot Shops? Cannabis CEOs Hope Not.
Entrepreneurs in 29 states who have been growing, testing and selling marijuana are now wondering: will President Trump’s Attorney General really divert resources from justice department priorities like stopping terrorism and dismantling gangs, to shut down neighborhood pot shops? These businesses have been operating under the Cole Memorandum which kept the Justice Department from prosecuting marijuana companies that were operating legally under their own state laws. Attorney General Sessions announced he was rescinding that memo.
Sessions’ decision directly contradicts President Trump’s statements on the campaign trail (shown in this one minute rally video) supporting federally legal medical marijuana and supporting states’ rights to make their own decisions for other adult use. Read More.