VOA常速英语:新任司法部长是何立场？美国大麻产业翘首以待

Buying pot at this dispensary in Los Angeles is similar to going to a high-end wine store.The plants on display have descriptions of its potency.Marijuana-laced food and bath items are on the shelves, all in an effort to make marijuana mainstream and dispel its stigma.Especially it’s in California (that) just legalized recreational use of marijuana last November.

“It’s inevitable, get with it.”In 2016, the legalized marijuana business almost reached 7 billion dollars.That number is expected to increase to more than 21 billion dollars in five years,but the new Trump administration is making some people in this growing industry nervous.

“The marijuana industry is definitely an industry that is in flux and part of it is because of this very complex regulatory landscape.It’s legal at the state level, it’s illegal at the federal level and there are a lot of conflicting laws.”

“There are areas of law (in) which we have both federal and state laws.When those laws are in direct conflict, the federal law trumps – no pun intended of course –the idea being really the supremacy clause which is a clause in the United States Constitution that makes clear that the federal law is supreme.”

But just because federal agents can enforce federal laws on states when the state laws are different,it does not undo the state law, creating a confusing gray area.Ultimately, it’s up to each president to set enforcement priorities.The Obama administration took a hands-off approach to marijuana and allowed each state to enforce its own laws.

But the Trump administration’s new top law enforcement official is the attorney general, Jeff Sessions,who made this comment in 2016, a senator from Alabama, “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

To confuse matters, during his confirmation hearing to be attorney general,Sessions was vague when responding to a question from Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy.

“Would you use our federal resources to investigate and prosecute sick people who are using marijuana in accordance with their state laws even though it may violate federal law?”

“I won’t commit to never enforcing federal law, Senator Leahy,but absolutely it’s a problem of resources for the federal government.”

“With enough independence and freedom to decide the direction he wants to go,somebody like Jeff Sessions may very well try to enforce federal marijuana laws which could lead to additional raids even within states that have approved marijuana use.”

But some players in the cannabis industry are more hopeful such as MedMen, which manages dispensaries.

“If you go by the theory that government follows the will of the people, and the fact that, you know, the marijuana industry’s already thriving.It’s already growing and it’s functioning within the bounds of law and showing that it is a possible industry,I think we feel pretty optimistic about our future.”

Congress is responding to the growing popularity of marijuana, forming the bipartisan Cannabis Caucus to bridge the disconnect between state and federal laws,and to promote the marijuana industry.

Elizabeth Lee, VOA News, Los Angeles.