MMJ: A Disturbance in The Force

I am hella worried that the Trump administration is going to clamp down on cannabis, especially in legal states. Are my fears unfounded? -P. Turbed

I don’t think there’s any need for you to hide all your weed just yet, but you are right to sense a disturbance in The Force. The Trump administration has not really said whether or not they will bother states that allow cannabis use. We do know that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions hates weed, but we also know that Colorado and Washington made over $1 billion in legal cannabis sales. California has over three times as many people as Colorado and Washington combined, and California weed is the best in the world, so the California cannabis market could easily make twice as much in revenue as any other legal state.

It’s easy for the feds to push around a bunch of outlaws, but it’s a completely different thing when the feds start trying to bully a multi-billion dollar industry. Legal cannabis provides money and jobs. It will be hard for state legislators to let go without a fight. Legal cannabis makes America a better place. Hell, some of the weed taxes collected in Pueblo, Colorado are being used to create a scholarship fund for its high school students. Yes, I could make a joke about “higher education” but it would be too easy. The point is: In America, money talks, and right now, cannabis money is talking.

If you’re still worried, there are some things you can do. You can email, call or visit your local representative and let them know that you support cannabis remaining legal. I was just at the International Cannabis Business Conference, and they had a panel on “How to talk Republican.” The panelists (all GOP lobbyists and advisers) suggested using terms like “small government,” “free market” and “states’ rights.”

But the takeaway is, I wouldn’t worry too much. Another thing mentioned in the panel at that conference is that cannabis just isn’t a big priority for the White House right now. I think they are correct about that. Sessions and President – err, chief strategist – Steve Bannon will probably be too busy taking away health insurance from millions of people and keeping minorities and liberals from voting to worry too much about stopping all the rich white Republicans looking to take over the cannabis game. We should be fine. For now.