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.
在洛杉矶的这家药房购买大麻，跟去高档葡萄酒店买酒没什么两样。展出的大麻植株旁附有标签描述大麻药力。货架上摆放着添加有大麻的食品和洗浴用品，这些努力是为了使大麻跻身主流社会，消除其耻辱感。值得一提的是，去年11月，加利福尼亚州宣布娱乐性质的大麻使用合法化。

“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.
“大麻合法化是必然的事。跟上潮流吧。”2016年，美国市场的合法大麻销售额近70亿美元。预计五年内该数字将攀升至超过210亿美元，但随着特朗普政府上台，使得这一快速增长产业中的一些人日益紧张。

“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.”
“大麻产业的确存在很大变数，其中一部分原因是监管方面较为复杂。在州法律的层级，吸食大麻是合法的；但在联邦法律的层级，则属于犯罪行为，很多法律彼此冲突。”

“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.”
“在很多领域，我们既有联邦法律，又有州法律。当这些法律直接冲突时，联邦法律占上风—当然不是故意在说双关语（trump 意为‘胜出’，与特朗普名字Trump双关），这一条款具有最高权威，因为美国宪法明文规定：联邦法律至高无上。”

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.
但是，仅因为州法律与联邦法律不同，联邦探员便可对各州实施联邦法律，并不能废除州法律，因此就产生了混乱的灰色地带。在执法优先权的问题上，每任总统有最终决定权。奥巴马政府对宣布大麻合法化的州采取不干预的做法，将执法标准交由各州决定。

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.”
但出任特朗普政府新任高级执法官员、司法部长的是杰夫.赛辛斯，一位来自亚拉巴马州的参议员，他曾在2016年讲话中说：“好公民不会吸食大麻。”

To confuse matters, during his confirmation hearing to be attorney general,Sessions was vague when responding to a question from Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy.
然而，让人感到疑惑的是，赛辛斯在出席任命听证会期间，面对佛蒙特州参议员帕特里克.莱希的提问，却给出了模棱两可的答复。

“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?”
“您会动用我们的联邦资源来调查、起诉那些使用大麻的病人吗？在他们所在的州，药用大麻合法，但却违反了联邦法律。”

“I won’t commit to never enforcing federal law, Senator Leahy,but absolutely it’s a problem of resources for the federal government.”
“我不会承诺绝不执行联邦法律，莱希参议员，但是有一点可以肯定，这是动用联邦政府资源的事。”

“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.”
“有足够的能力自由决定对大麻采取何种态度的人，像杰夫.赛辛斯，极有可能试图强制实施联邦法律，可能会进行大麻毒品突击扫荡行动，甚至包括那些批准大麻合法化的州。”

But some players in the cannabis industry are more hopeful such as MedMen, which manages dispensaries.
但是大麻产业的一些参与者认为前景一片大好，如一家叫做MedMen的公司，从事药用大麻管理咨询。

“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.”
“如果按照以下理论考虑这个问题，即：政府会遵循人民的意愿，而且，要知道，大麻产业正在蓬勃发展。它不仅增长迅速，且在法律范围内运作，我们会发现，这是一个有发展可能的产业，我认为我们对未来很乐观。”

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.
随着大麻的广泛使用，国会批准成立了两党大麻委员会，以弥合州法律与联邦法律之间的脱节，从而促进大麻产业的发展。

Elizabeth Lee, VOA News, Los Angeles.
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