California AG defends state's marijuana laws

As he admitted having tried weed "at a younger time," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Wednesday night defended the state’s 2016 legalization of recreational marijuana against possible federal restrictions.

In an interview with POLITICO California’s David Siders and Carla Marinucci, the former Democratic congressman said he is willing to fight U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a dedicated foe of the drug, on a possible federal crackdown on legal marijuana.


“Cannabis is last century’s argument. We’re beyond that. I suspect if you took a real quick poll here, I bet if we took a poll, who has got cannabis, it'd be pretty — you don’t have to raise your hand, but you know what I'm saying,” Becerra told the San Francisco audience.

Siders said the reporters wouldn’t ask the entire audience, but he did ask the state attorney general.

“Well, do you use, have you used?” Siders asked.

“Yes, at a younger time, I tried it, yes. Meaning, meaning much younger,” Becerra said.

“So then it was illegal?” Siders asked.

“I also drive over the speed limit periodically, so,” Becerra said jokingly.

“Fair point,” Siders said.

Becerra vowed to defend the measure California voters passed last November to legalize the use of recreational marijuana, a step further from the state's legalization of medical marijuana in 1996.

“I would love to see Jeff Sessions come to California and tell us we’re not going to move forward on cannabis. Something tells me that it’s not gonna happen,” Becerra said. “I’ll probably be the 1 millionth person in line to fight Jeff Sessions on that.”

This article tagged under: Xavier Becerra

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