Oregon officials angry over pot crackdown by Attorney General Sessions

Oregon officials reacted angrily to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' order Thursday terminating an Obama-era policy that allowed legalized marijuana to flourish in states across the country, creating confusion about enforcement and use just three days after recreational pot became legal in California.

Sessions' new stance lets federal prosecutors where marijuana is legal decide how aggressively to enforce longstanding federal law prohibiting it.

The decision ends the President Barack Obama administration policy agreeing not to interfere with states legalizing marijuana, as long as state officials ensured pot did not travel over state lines where it was illegal.

If the Justice Department carries out the change, growers and users could be prosecuted.

"States are the laboratories of democracy, where progressive policies are developed and implemented for the benefit of their people," said Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. "Voters in Oregon were clear when they chose for Oregon to legalize the sale of marijuana and the federal government should not stand in the way of the will of Oregonians."

Brown said more than 19,000 marijuana jobs are at stake with the policy rollback and that the state's economy could be disrupted.

The Department of Revenue collected more than $108 million in state and local marijuana taxes between Jan. 4, 2016 and Aug. 31, 2017, according to officials. Roughly $85 million in marijuana tax revenue was distributed to Oregon agencies, cities in counties in October.

Jered DeCamp,co-owner of the Salem dispensary Herbal Remedies, said he isn't worried about being prosecuted despite the policy change.

"The federal government wants to keep us under their thumb, but we are providing the state money from a local, agriculturally grown item from our land," DeCamp said. "As a grower, I'm really not afraid that our state will want to prosecute us."

He said he supports the prosecution of people growing or selling pot illegally, but he thinks it's unfortunate the federal government has put a target on suppliers, growers and users who comply with Oregon state law.

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said officials with the Oregon Department of Justice will continue to ensure the state's marijuana industry thrives under Oregon's regulatory requirements.

She said the previous policy has provided guidance to states that have legalized marijuana and called the crackdown an "overreach" by the Trump administration.

"I value my working relationship with Oregon U.S. Attorney-nominee Bill Williams and I look forward to working with his office," Rosenblum said. "This is an industry that Oregonians have chosen, and one I will do everything within my legal authority to protect.”

Williams said in a statement that Oregon plans on maintaining the same level of enforcement, including seed-to-sale tracking of medical and recreational marijuana and increased criminal penalties for unlawful import and export of marijuana products.

"We will continue working with our federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners to pursue shared public safety objectives, with an emphasis on stemming the overproduction of marijuana and the diversion of marijuana out of state," Williams said.

Brown's and Rosenblum's stand was quickly echoed by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, another Oregon Democrat and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.

Some Oregon Republicans also spoke out against the move.

“The federal government should respect the will of Oregon voters; the principle of federalism is at stake,” said state Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, who's running against Brown. "As governor, I will defend Oregon interests and honor voter intent.”

In August, Brown and Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton sent a letter to Sessions explaining Oregon's policies and how they're aimed at the "safety and security" of the state's marijuana market.

In Sessions' statement, he said “today's memo on federal marijuana enforcement simply directs all U.S. Attorneys to use previously established prosecutorial principles that provide them all the necessary tools to disrupt criminal organizations, tackle the growing drug crisis, and thwart violent crime across our country.”

Wyden said President Donald Trump broke his promise to allow states to set their own marijuana policies.

"He's breaking that promise so Jeff Sessions can pursue his extremist anti-marijuana crusade," Wyden said. "Once again the Trump administration is doubling down on protecting states’ rights only when they believe the state is right."

Wyden called the decision a "socially unjust and economically backward scheme" that is against the majority of Americans who support legalized marijuana. A Gallup poll reported roughly 64 percent of Americans support marijuana legislation.

Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read said Sessions' decision is an attempt to override state rights and is a waste of public safety resources.

"If the administration truly wanted to address a public health crisis they would put their time and resources toward fighting the opioid epidemic," Read said.

Blumenauer, called the Sessions' decision "outrageous."

In a statement, Blumenauer said the decision goes against a majority of Republican voters who want the federal government to refrain from overriding state laws.

He called the report "one of the stupidest decisions" Sessions has made.

"One wonders if Trump was consulted—it is Jeff Sessions after all—because this would violate his campaign promise not to interfere with state marijuana laws," Blumenauer said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Email Lauren Hernandez at lehernande@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-399-6743 or follow on Twitter @LaurenPorFavor

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