ABC News reports that while Sessions has insisted on numerous occasions that the federal justice system must be based on law and facts – casting politics aside – he apparently made his political views on legal marijuana crystal clear during this event – even going so far as to mock an intern who pressed him on it.

During the forum, Sessions was asked by one intern for his reasons to support “pretty harsh policies” when it comes to legal marijuana, while simultaneously backing relatively lax gun control measures, given that possession and use of firearms has been proven to result in far more deaths than marijuana. Sessions responded by saying that more fatal accidents are caused by drugs than alcohol (though this is an oversimplification on the research on this front) and that marijuana is undoubtedly unhealthy substance, per the findings of the American Medical Association.

The intern responded by challenging this assertion, to which Sessions responded by dismissively addressing her as “Dr. Whatever Your Name Is,” encouraging her to write to the AMA with her concerns. He added he did not believe America would be safe if cannabis was available “in every corner grocery store.” He said comparing marijuana to guns was apples-to-oranges, and that while the right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment, marijuana has no such protection.

Sessions’ views on legalization of marijuana have not been a secret. He has previously criticized the character of those who use marijuana, stated that D.A.R.E. videos kept kids off drugs (seemingly backing what we know to be failed “War on Drugs” policies) and has stated support for enforcement of federal drug laws.

It’s unclear what this will mean in the coming years for marijuana in California. As our marijuana defense attorneys in Los Angeles know, the state only recently hammered out nearly 300 pages of regulations for the new recreational cannabis marketplace, outlining substantial licensing fees, limitations on THC concentration in edibles and mandates marijuana businesses track all their product from seed-to-sale. The new regulations were initiated by the passage of Proposition 64, which left many of the details of how recreational marijuana would be managed to local governments and state regulators. The state’s regulations are broader industry rules, while local jurisdictions have the authority to decide whether they will allow marijuana to be sold in their jurisdictions. Los Angeles is among those that recently approved marijuana sales, and it’s expected to be the largest metro market for recreational marijuana.

While there are of course varying interests and concerns to balance, it does seem state regulators and local governments have been carefully – even painstakingly – working on this task. While they don’t want to bombard cities with new shops, but they do want to meet demand and do so in a way that will be safe. But all of this work might be for naught if Sessions decides to enforce federal law classifying marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic. Under federal law, cultivation and distribution of marijuana are serious offenses worthy of decades behind bars.

This conflict between federal and state law has affected nearly every aspect of state-approved marijuana distribution, but it’s been less of an issue in recent years, thanks to the hands-off policy adopted by the DOJ under the latter part of the Obama administration. Given Sessions’ position, marijuana businesses and entrepreneurs have less confidence in their operations. Although he promised to adopt “rational policy” on the issue, there has been no indication of what that is.

The reality is that halting legalization of marijuana at this juncture would be practically difficult. Most Americans support it and enforcement of federal laws would result in destabilizing strong markets – and potentially prompting voters to rebel. Then again, this administration has not yielded to the broader public opinion, so this aspect is still a wildcard.

The Los Angeles CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients and those facing marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

Additional Resources:

Less-guarded Sessions spars with interns in internal DOJ video, Dec. 7, 2017, By Mike Levine and Geneva Sands, ABC News

More Blog Entries:

Honolulu Police Aim to Get Guns Out of The Hands of Medical Marijuana Patients, Dec. 4, 2017, California Marijuana Lawyer Blog

The Native American teenager had faced a federal misdemeanor – which carries a possible one-year prison term and a $1,000 fine – after another student was caught with the drug in his backpack and pointed to defendant as the person from whom he had purchased it. The amount of the drug found – 1 gram – is approximately enough to roll one joint, maybe two if you stretch it. In addition to the possible prison sentence and out-sized fine, the teen would have faced denial of federal student loans, public housing and government aid – for life.

Possession of marijuana has been decriminalized in Oregon. In fact, the drug has even been legal for adult recreational use in that state since 2014. But federal authorities became involved because the incident occurred at a boarding school for Native American students that is operated by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education. That meant this 19-year-old kid, who was preparing for college in this fall, had this possible one-year federal prison term hanging over his head.

State lawmakers called for the feds to back off, saying that while use of the drug by minors certainly was not acceptable, the fact that federal prosecutors were pushing for a penalty of this teenager over a single gram of the drug was a total misallocation of resources. L.A. marijuana lawyers followed the case as it became national news recently, with features in The Washington Post and other big news outlets.

Now, it seems prosecutors have acquiesced – interesting because prosecutors often pride themselves on not bending their decisions based on the whims of the public. However in this case, it appears they did have discretion and clearly, if a case called for discretion, this was it. Plus, it probably didn’t hurt that three Oregon congressional delegates issued a public letter to the U.S. Attorney in the region, demanding that he explain his drug enforcement priorities.

The teen was a first-time offender and the amount was tiny, particularly in a state where the drug is widely available for recreational use. Prosecutors confirmed that the charges will be dropped if the teen agrees to obey the law and maintains a job for 60 days. If he meets these terms, prosecutors will move for a dismissal of the charges in early October.

His public defender called the outcome, “a fair resolution,” adding he hoped this would be the last such case to be raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), one of the first to raise ire about the case, later told the Willamette Week that while he was pleased to hear federal prosecutors were dropping the charges against this teen, he voiced concern about the fact that the charges were filed in the first place. He added that it was his hope the outcome in this case will set a precedent for the future that will steer prosecutors away from filing such cases to begin with, something Blumenauer called a “waste of time and resources.”

The Los Angeles CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients and those facing marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

Additional Resources:

Feds Dropping Charges Against Native American Teenager Who Faced a Year in Jail for Cannabis, August 2016, By Leah Sottile, Willamette Week

More Blog Entries:

Teen Faces Federal Drug Charges for 1 Gram of Marijuana, Aug. 11, 2016, L.A. Marijuana Lawyer Blog

Authorities have charged the two men with illegally and covertly shipping marijuana seeds from the Netherlands via compact disc cases and sewn into clothing inseams.

These charges were filed some eight months after tribe, the Flandreau Santee Sioux, decimated the existing marijuana crop, fearing federal authorities were preparing a raid on the operation. That marked the abandonment of an elaborate plan to found what was described as an “adult playground,” which it was believed could help rake in as much as $2 million every month in profits.

At this point, tribal leaders say they have no plans to press reassess the proposal. Instead, the greenhouse that was originally built to grow cannabis will now instead be used to grow vegetables.

Based on the facts our California marijuana arrest lawyers know at this juncture, it seems the project may have been doomed from the start. That’s because the South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley warned both the tribe and these consultants from the very start that this was illegal under state and federal law. Our marijuana lawyers understand walking the fine line of what is legal and what isn’t can be a tightrope walk when we’re dealing with a maze of conflicting laws from state-to-state and also at the federal level. Rules on native tribe land can be even trickier. This was a situation that called for experienced marijuana legal consultation at every phase to avoid trouble.

According to The Associated Press, the two men were slapped with a range marijuana possession charges. They were working with a company called Monarch America, a company based in Colorado that was hired by the tribe to work on the resort idea.

The 34-year-old chief executive of the firm has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to possess marijuana, possession of marijuana and attempt to possess more than 10 pounds of marijuana. Similarly, the 43-year-old vice president and “cultivation expert” at the firm has been charged with conspiracy to possess one pound of marijuana.

According to the criminal complaint, the vice president ordered seeds from a company in the Netherlands that were then shipped illegally to the Native tribe’s office last year. Authorities say those seeds then became 600 plants, which were grown on tribal land. Tribe leaders, then fearing criminal charges, burned the drug in batches.

The attorney general in subsequent press conferences has painted the tribe as the victim in all this, saying they were unwittingly wooed into violation of state and federal laws. The county state attorney said no charges were being filed against the tribe or its members. However, prosecutors did call for the tribe to reconsider it’s “adult playground”concept, which involved a nightclub smoking lounge, bar and food service and an outdoor music venue.

The tribe started looking into the marijuana grow operation after a 2014 U.S. Justice Department policy indicating Indian tribes could legalize the growth and sale of marijuana in much the same way that states have. Tribal leaders were hoping the profits could be used for community services for tribal members.

The Los Angeles CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients and those facing marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

Additional Resources:

South Dakota charges 2 men trying to help launch pot resort, Aug. 3, 2016, By Regina Garcia Cano and James Nord, Associated Press

More Blog Entries:

California Marijuana Company Prevails After Police Raid, July 12, 2016, Los Angeles Marijuana Arrest Lawyer Blog

In one case, there was an expansion of the exception to a long-standing rule that unlawfully-gathered evidence had to be discarded. In the second ruling, the court held that those who deal drugs – even those who only selling locally to their neighbors – were in effect a part of some larger interstate commerce.

As Phillip Smith of StopTheDrugWar.org pointed out, these two decisions:

• Widen local police’s ability to sidestep the law without accountability;
• Give prosecutors the muscle of the federal government to crush small-time, low-level drug dealers and other criminals.

The high court has long deferred to the position of law enforcement officers. But this is often done to the detriment of the public at-large.

Let’s look at each case individually.

First up is Utah v. Strieff, in which a detective investigating possible drug sales at a private residence stopped defendant absent reasonable cause as soon as he stepped outside his home. During this encounter, the officer discovered defendant had an outstanding traffic warrant. At that point, officer arrested defendant and searched him. In the course of that search discovered meth and paraphernalia, for which defendant was charged.

Defendant sought a motion to suppress evidence of the items discovered in the search because it was the result of an investigatory stop that was unlawful. At both the trial and the appellate court, he lost. However, his conviction was overturned by the state high court, which determined the “attentuation doctrine” – which is an exception to the exclusionary rule – was not applicable. However, the U.S. Supreme Court did not agree and reversed.

The attenuation doctrine, for those not familiar, is the principle that evidence unlawfully obtained can be used even if it is the result of a search that is affected by an unlawful initial detention if there is a circumstance that is intervening. The U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-3 decision determined the police misconduct was basically not severe enough to suppress the evidence. But of course, that’s pure speculation, and one that or Los Angeles marijuana lawyers believe takes a rosy view of law enforcement.

The second case, Taylor v. U.S., the high court ruled that federal prosecutors can use federal law to pursue those who commit robbery against drug dealers – even when the dealers are only peddling marijuana that is locally grown and there is no evidence the sales were occurring across state lines.

That decision, which was reached 7-1, was the latest in a string of cases that has ruled in favor of the federal government’s use of the interstate commerce clause in drug cases. Another was the 2005 case of Gonzales v. Raich, in which the high court upheld the right of the federal government to take action against those who grow and sell marijuana, even in states where doing so is legal.

In Taylor, defendant as part of a gang that targeted marijuana cultivators and dealers for robbery. The majority ruled he could be charged federally per the Hobbs Act. The sole dissenting Justice Clarence Thomas ruled the use of the commerce clause in these cases granted too much power to the federal government.

The Los Angeles CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients and those facing marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

Additional Resources:

Supreme Court Opens Door for More Lawless Police Searches, June 20, 2016, By Phillip Smith, The Daily Chronic

More Blog Entries:

Marijuana Possession Arrests Up in NYC, Despite Decriminalization, June 14, 2016, Los Angeles Marijuana Lawyer Blog