A federal crackdown on recreational marijuana use may be on the horizon, and local and state proponents of the drug said Friday they are skeptical of the government’s capability to implement said possible measures.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer signaled the measures during a press briefing Thursday when he drew parallels between recreational marijuana use and the opioid epidemic.
“And I think that when you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing that we should be doing is encouraging people,” Spicer said, according to White House transcripts of the briefing. “There is still a federal law that we need to abide by in terms of the medical — when it comes to recreational marijuana and other drugs of that nature.”
Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said in an email Friday that he stood by Massachusetts constituents who, last November, voted to legalize recreational marijuana use for those 21 and older.
“We have a responsibility to follow the will of the Massachusetts voters. Mr. Spicer’s statements add complications that state policy makers understood before, during, and after the ballot question campaign,” Rosenberg said. “At this point I think we have an obligation to move forward even as we monitor activities at the federal level.”
Spicer was mum on details as to what form a possible crackdown would take, according to the Associated Press.
“I do believe you’ll see greater enforcement of it,” Spicer said, adding that President Trump does not oppose medical marijuana, but “that’s very different than recreational use, which is something the Department of Justice will be further looking into.”
Recreational marijuana use is legal in eight states and Washington, D.C. Should the Justice Department throw the books at users, however, there are several possible avenues for it to do so, according to the AP. The Justice Department could file lawsuits arguing state laws that regulate marijuana use are not constitutional because they’re pre-empted by federal law. The department could also direct U.S. attorneys to send letters to businesses that offer recreational marijuana informing them they’re in violation of the law.
Marty Klein, a marijuana advocate and public speaker in Easthampton who leads public sessions about growing for personal use, said Friday he didn’t think a possible federal crackdown would make much of a difference.
“It’s such a tricky thing because the federal law and state law are in direct opposition to one another,” he said. “There’s not enough federal agents to truly wipe out the industry. I guess they can do legal things to try and shut it down, (but) the horse is out of the barn at this point … there’s going to be push back.”
Klein added he could only place so much faith in the state Legislature.
“I don’t think things could get any slower in Massachusetts,” he said, referencing the bill Gov. Charlie Baker signed in December that pushed back the availability of marijuana in stores from early 2018 to mid-2018.
If the federal government comes down on recreational marijuana use “it may be officially shut down, but it’s only going to grow the underground market,” Klein said. “And it might be an issue that liberals and conservatives can sit down and agree on together finally.”
Information reported by the Associated Press was used in this story.