A Shift in Strategy: How Jeff Sessions’ Actions Are Helping the Legal Cannabis Industry
In today’s United States, a large-scale operation is underway to eradicate the cannabis industry, just as Attorney General Jeff Sessions intended. However, it’s unlikely that Mr. Sessions expected this crackdown to primarily affect the black and gray markets for cannabis, ultimately benefiting the legal market he so strongly opposes.
From the very beginning of his tenure as Attorney General, Sessions was outspoken in his criticism of state-level cannabis reforms, often blaming them for many of society’s ills. “Good people don’t smoke marijuana,” he declared early in his service at a conference for the National Association of Police Officers. “As Nancy Reagan once said, we should just say ‘No’ to drugs. We cannot allow the legalization of this poison, despite calls for therapeutic and recreational reform. We cannot risk the free sale of this drug on the national market,” he stated during his speech.
At the start of the Trump administration, Sessions assured the public that the new leadership would move away from the “wrong direction” of drug policy taken during the Obama years. His plan called for total criminalization of the plant, with no exceptions even for medical use.
Yet, after 18 months of inaction, it appears that the long-awaited crackdown is unfolding in a way Sessions may not have intended. Despite mass arrests in all legal states, police and DEA agents have focused their resources on fighting underground, unlicensed cannabis producers. Eliminating this kind of competition only benefits the legal industry, increasing its overall profits.
For example, earlier last month, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California approved one of the largest police operations against illegal cannabis plantations in recent years. On April 3rd and 4th, California police, with federal support, raided 74 homes in the Sacramento area, arresting dozens of members of a Chinese underground cartel specializing in cannabis and other drugs. Additionally, local police recently announced another $2.5 million in state funding to combat similar underground organizations in the region.
Last week, Washington state police arrested another group of Chinese gangsters involved in illegal cannabis cultivation in rental homes in the western part of the state.
Contrary to the expectations of the legal industry, it seems that the Justice Department, perhaps unintentionally, has begun acting in the interests of legal businesses and their customers, rather than against them.
Federal Support for Regional Cannabis Industries
Overall, regional law enforcement officials recognize that the cannabis industry is a significant source of tax revenue, so they strive to support its growth. By following established laws, police in legalized states have been able to focus their resources on fighting underground businesses involved in unlicensed cannabis production, as well as gray-market shops violating regulations for legal products. The cannabis industry now employs over 150,000 Americans, and that number continues to grow each year.
McGregor Scott, the U.S. Attorney for California’s Central Valley, where Sacramento is located, supports the plan to invest $2.5 million in continued police operations against criminals and violators. “Despite the reforms and the rapid growth of the legal cannabis market, there is still a huge and powerful black market in the region, which could consume all the resources local police have,” Scott told reporters. “Right now, we must invest available funds in fighting the main threats to legalization: organized gangs running plantations on federal land, and smugglers exporting legal products across state lines.”
It’s worth noting that Scott is not a holdover from the Obama administration; he was appointed early last year by Sessions himself, with President Trump’s approval.
Common-Sense Policy in Action
Recently, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes gave an interview to Leafly, where he discussed the details of the police operation against the Chinese smuggling ring. “This is exactly how the government should act in an era of fully regulated legalization,” Holmes said. “Washington has had a successful system for regulating the legal recreational cannabis market for several years now, and it protects the public from addiction and crime better than the old regime of strict criminalization. I hope that in the future, federal agents will continue to help local police pursue truly dangerous criminals involved in underground commercial cannabis production.”
Holmes is one of the first federal prosecutors in the country to openly support cannabis reform. Back in 2009, he ordered his staff to stop prosecuting minor cannabis offenses. He was also a key sponsor of the full legalization initiative passed at the end of 2012.
According to Holmes, in recent years, a sprawling cartel of Chinese criminals has established itself in Washington and neighboring states, and it’s extremely difficult to tackle them without federal resources. “In this case, we’re dealing not just with a national, but an international criminal organization whose members are armed and extremely dangerous,” Holmes said. “It’s clear that in such situations, we welcome federal help to address this very real problem of underground cannabis production.”
“Both Seattle and the entire state of Washington thank the federal agents who participated in the cartel bust for the help they provided when it was needed,” Holmes added. “Thanks to their quick work, we were able to eliminate a serious obstacle to the legal cannabis distribution system.”
The Unexpected Benefits of Sessions’ Policy
Just a couple of weeks ago, Leafly radio hosts Ben Adlin, Dave Schmader, and Bruce Barcott suggested that after full federal legalization, DEA resources could be redirected to enforcing market laws and fighting underground smuggling gangs that survive by selling illegally grown product at very low prices. Ironically, according to recent reports, it seems the feds have finally decided to tackle real drug crime.
Although the authorities are not giving special favors to the legal cannabis business, it appears they are taking serious steps to eradicate underground production. Even in California, after all the challenges with registration and licensing, the authorities are now genuinely protecting law-abiding businesses from their underground and gray-market competitors.
What does Mr. Sessions himself think about all this? It’s hard to say for sure. While one might assume that he hoped for this outcome, given his public statements on legalization, there’s little doubt he’s unhappy that the raids have not affected legal businesses. It’s possible that soon he’ll once again blame cannabis for all of society’s problems, including the migration of Chinese gangsters into the country.
Regardless of his personal views, it’s clear that, for once, the cannabis industry is actually benefiting from the actions of police and federal agents.