North Coast Assemblyman Jim Wood co-introduced an Assembly resolution last week telling President Donald Trump and the Justice Department to leave the state’s cannabis industry alone.
The resolution suggests resources should be directed elsewhere.
“The growing opioid crisis continues to represent a far greater threat to the health and safety of our communities, claiming 91 American lives every day,” the resolution states. “Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, that the enforcement priorities of the United States Department of Justice should not be undeservedly placed on California’s lawful and closely regulated cannabis industry.
The resolution points out California legalized medical marijuana with more than 55 percent of the vote in 1996; and recreation was legalized with more than 57 percent of the vote through Proposition 64 in 2016.
“The federal government should instead focus on investigating and prosecuting those who have created and exacerbated the epidemic of prescription drug abuse across our country,” the resolution states.
“For almost 22 years, medical marijuana has been legal in California,” Wood said in a statement sent to the Times-Standard. “In 2016, we voted to legalize adult use and have established a strict and comprehensive system of oversight for both. To all of a sudden have the federal government question our state’s right feels like nothing but an attack.”
The resolution was referred to the Assembly Committee on Public Safety on March 22. While Wood co-introduced the resolution, he is not listed as either a sponsor or author of it.
