OLYMPIA -- Leaders in Washington state are reacting to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision to rescind an Obama-era policy that has helped legal marijuana flourish in the state and elsewhere.
From the governor to the state's attorney general, down to local lawmakers and marijuana advocates, many in Washington criticized Sessions' move to take back the so-called Cole Memo, a letter sent out under the Obama administration that effectively encouraged federal prosecutors not to go after state-legal cannabis operations.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson released a statement Thursday on Twitter saying he's "disappointed with Sessions' plans to abandon the current federal policy on marijuana." He also mentioned Sessions rescinding the Ogden Memo from 2009, which states medical marijuana prosecutions are "unlikely to be an efficient use of limited federal resources."
He also linked to a 15-page letter the governor and attorney general sent to Sessions last August.
Gov. Jay Inslee tweeted, saying the state would "vigorously defend" our state's laws against federal interruption.
He went on to say that the people "of Washington have spoken. We are not going backwards on this issue."
The U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Washington, Annette Hayes, released the following statement Thursday:
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan also released a statement saying, "Seattle won't be bullied by the Trump Administration which is obsessed with undoing progress that we've made on key issues, including legalization."
Durkan and city attorney Pete Holmes held a press conference at 11:15 a.m., detailing the city's plan to combat any federal intrusion into legalized pot.
Congresswoman Maria Jayapal blasted Sessions' move, saying she was "extremely disappointing" and that legal marijuana took an important step in "strengthening public health."
Congressman Denny Heck, a Democrat, said the withdrawal of the Cole Memo was "reckless and irresponsible."
"This reckless and irresponsible action from the Department of Justice will not go unanswered," Heck said. "To prevent this aciton from spiraling out of control, Congress must immediately remove marijuana from the list of of controlled substances, in order to preserve the legal marijuana markets in 37 states."
Congressman Adam Smith, a Democrat, also condemned the move.
State Rep. Dan Kristiansen (R-Snohomish) said it "didn't surprise him" that the federal government was looking to go after state legalized marijuana, and that whatever the outcome, state business leaders could be impacted.
"At this stage of the game, based on the citizens' initiative, we have billions of dollars of transactions that are taking place related to the marijuana industry," Kristiansen said.
State Senator Sharon Nelson said the state worked in a bipartisan way to legalize marijuana, and she showed concern for local business owners.
"We've already worked on the initiative in a bi-partisan way to make sure it worked for the state of Washington," Nelson said. "The concern I have is for the banking in the industry."
Dow Constantine, King County's Executive, said marijuana legalization has been "nothing but good for Washington."
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Where does WA’s marijuana money go?
Where does WA's marijuana money go?
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