By ALEX VISSER | WNPA Olympia News Bureau
OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee said the Trump administration’s stand on cannabis legalization on the state level is backward, and a state senator said she fears re-criminalizing cannabis would mean the return of the black market.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Jan. 4 the rescinding of Obama-era guidelines that assisted the legalization of non-medical cannabis in Washington, seven other states and the District of Columbia.
Sessions’ announcement came via a memo to U.S. attorneys, in which he referenced the illegality of possessing and distributing cannabis under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Sessions suggested that such legislation confirms cannabis is a “dangerous drug.”
The Obama administration set guidelines for federal authorities that essentially encouraged a hands-off approach to enforcing federal cannabis laws in states that had legalized it. Washington state voters legalized cannabis in 2012.
In his memo, Sessions declared the guidelines to be rescinded, effective immediately.
While Sessions encouraged federal prosecutors to exercise their own discretion, Inslee said they would have to work in isolation, as he has no plans to use the resources of local law enforcement agencies in Washington.
Inslee, flanked by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, and Rep. David Sawyer, D-Tacoma, voiced opposition to Sessions’ announcement, calling out the Trump administration for going against what Inslee called progress. The group gathered Jan. 4 in Olympia as part of the annual Associated Press legislative session preview for news media.
“It’s disappointing to see the administration want to go backwards,” Inslee said. “The rest of the world wants to follow us.”
While Inslee and Ferguson were hesitant to comment on potential legal action, the governor did not rule out the possibility of a lawsuit against the Trump administration.
Rivers said bipartisan legislative support for an industry approved by state voters will continue, despite federal sentiment.
“We have been extremely united,” Rivers said. “We anticipate that we will maintain our system and program.”
Sawyer noted that even in years of Republican control in the state Senate, there have been no efforts to repeal the initiative that established marijuana’s legalization.
Rivers called the U.S. attorney general’s position “misguided,” and claimed that Washington state has all but eliminated the black market for marijuana, while Sessions’ new federal guidelines could bring it back.
Rvers also referenced economic interests, predicting that the marijuana industry could bring $750 million into the state by the end of the year.
Ferguson said Sessions’ announcement was expected. He, Inslee and governors in Alaska, Oregon and Colorado made several attempts in 2017 to meet with Sessions to discuss the Trump administration’s position on marijuana, but the attorney general declined, writing back that Washington state’s regulatory structures were questionable.
A recurring theme in Inslee’s rhetoric was the power of Washington citizens, whose votes allowed the legalization of marijuana in the first place. The governor hearkened to the history of citizen initiatives, and said it was citizens that could shape national discourse.
“We should believe an uproar of public sentiment can change policy,” Inslee said. “We should have confidence in our ability to do this again.”
—Alex Visser is a reporter for the WNPA Olympia News Bureau.
