Unclear whether Trump administration could stop legalizing marijuana: Hickenlooper

Posted by Sagar Satapathy on March 21, 2017.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” told moderator Chuck Todd on Sunday that it is unclear whether the Trump administration could stop legalizing marijuana for recreational purpose.

The Trump administration, just few days ago, said the department of justice was going to step up enforcement of marijuana laws.

The Democratic governor is however optimistic that the White House will respect sovereignty of the states. He highlighted that U.S.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that marijuana will not be a top enforcement priority.

However, if things change with the federal government, Hickenlooper is prepared to fight for the interest of Colorado. “I took a solemn oath to support our constitution,” he said.

“I had opposed the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado. I spoke openly against it, but it passed in Colorado by 55% to 45%. It is now part of our constitution”, he added. "It's never my choice to be in conflict with federal law, let's make that clear.”

“Over 60 percent of American people are now in a state where either medical or recreational marijuana is legalized. This has become of the great social experiment of our time.” Hickenlooper stated. "I'm getting close. I don't think I'm quite there yet, but we have made a lot of progress. We didn't see a spike in teenage use, if anything, it's come down in the last year."

In 2012, Colorado Amendment 64 legalized the sale and possession of marijuana for recreational purposes including private cultivation of up to six marijuana plants, with no more than three being mature. The legalization of marijuana sales and use brought the state tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue in 2015, and sales topped $1 billion in 2016.

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