How Trump’s team is trying to convince states to legalize marijuana in a major way
It’s a case that has played out on the front pages of major newspapers across the country.
A federal judge in Oregon on Monday ordered the state to begin the process of legalizing recreational marijuana, with Washington and Colorado slated to follow suit later this year.
The Oregon decision followed a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in February that the federal government should not interfere in states’ medical marijuana programs.
It also came on the heels of a ruling by the U,S.
District Court in California that struck down a separate ban on recreational marijuana use in the state, ruling that states could not restrict medical marijuana access based on race or gender.
“We believe the Ninth Circuit correctly decided that the states are entitled to exercise their sovereign power to set their own marijuana laws, even when federal law prohibits it,” a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told Business Insider.
“That includes the ability to impose sanctions on states that refuse to comply with federal law.”
It’s unclear how many states have already approved recreational marijuana.
A number of states, including Colorado and Washington, have already voted to begin allowing the use of marijuana in some form.
And the U.,S.
Drug Enforcement Administration has repeatedly made clear that it will continue to enforce federal law against marijuana and other illegal drugs.
But what has also emerged from the court battle is that the Trump administration is trying not only to get the states to adopt the legal marijuana initiative, but also to convince them to pass a law that would make it legal to grow and sell marijuana.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Trump’s lawyer, Alan Garten, said that the president was hoping to have the states’ marijuana legalization law approved by January.
The court case comes as the Trump White House has sought to build support for the effort in the months since the Supreme Court ruling.
The administration has pushed the argument that states are already doing a good job of legalizing marijuana and that its legalization is needed in order to get people to switch from prescription opioids and heroin.
The Trump administration has also pushed the case as part of its push to reduce the federal deficit and has also used the legal fight to push back against Democrats and others who argue that the White House is too close to the drug war.
“The president believes that states have the right to regulate their own drug policies and he’s concerned about what could happen if the courts and the Congress don’t protect states from criminalization,” a White House spokesperson said in an email to Business Insider last week.
“The president also believes states should be able to decide if they want to legalize medical marijuana and the president believes states have a responsibility to protect their citizens and communities from abuse of prescription opioids.”
This week, a group of 19 Democratic senators sent a letter to the Trump team asking for “a more robust and comprehensive response to the Obama Administration’s position” that states should not be allowed to establish their own medical marijuana laws.
The letter was signed by Sens.
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D) and Patrick Leahy (D).
The White House also released a statement on Monday urging states to begin preparing for recreational marijuana legalization in a way that allows the drug to be sold and regulated by the state.
“With today’s decision, the Ninth District Court is giving the President and his team the legal authority to start implementing the legalization of recreational marijuana in the United States,” the statement said.
“As you know, the Obama administration has repeatedly refused to enforce the Controlled Substances Act and has threatened to use the War on Drugs to attack states that have tried to regulate and legalize recreational marijuana.”
