Inslee Encouraged By Pot Talk With AG Holder

[Truth Seeker]

Gov. Jay Inslee said his conversation Tuesday with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder convinced him Washington state should continue making rules for a legal marijuana industry as mandated by voter-approved Initiative 502.

Inslee and state Attorney General Bob Ferguson met with Holder because of the conflict between federal law, which bans all marijuana, and the state's law, which makes possession of an ounce of pot legal for those 21 and older.

Inslee said the 45-minute conversation was "very satisfying" and a "confidence-builder" about the state's ability to move forward implementing legal marijuana. "We went in thinking we should continue with rule-making and nothing I heard should dissuade us," Inslee said.

At the same time, he stressed that Holder said nothing dispositive about the federal government's intentions and whether it would crack down on Washington state or look the other way.

Inslee said he did not press Holder for a clearer signal, or position, because he considered their talk a preliminary meeting with more discussions to follow.

Noting that the state is moving ahead with rule-making, Ferguson said he emphasized that the state would like answers soon. "We made it very clear that while we're moving forward, some deadlines are coming up soon. I think Attorney General Holder understood that we'd need guidance in months to come," Ferguson said.

Inslee said several times the state would provide Holder with details about how it would prevent its legal marijuana from leaking into other states.

"We spent some time talking about how the initiative would work, how the regulatory process would work. He listened with great interest, and I appreciated that," Inslee said.

The law will be implemented by the state's Liquor Control Board, which on Tuesday held the first of six meetings planned to take public comment about the law. The second meeting will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at Seattle City Hall.

The governor added that Holder's questions show he is "going to be fully attentive" to Washington's evolving law. Inslee said it's no surprise that Holder would take his time to fully evaluate the implementation of I-502.

In case the federal government decided to oppose the law, Ferguson has a team of lawyers in his office preparing to make the best legal case for upholding I-502.

"I said we want to avoid a legal fight," Ferguson recounted during a news conference after the meeting with Holder. "We want to find a pathway forward. But if it comes to it, the Washington Attorney General's Office will be prepared for legal fight."

President Obama has said recreational pot smoking in Colorado and Washington, the two states that have legalized it, is not a major concern for his administration.

"We've got bigger fish to fry," Obama said in an interview with ABC News last month. "It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it's legal."

News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: seattletimes.com
Author: Bob Young
Contact: Services | Contact us | Seattle Times Newspaper
Website: Inslee encouraged by marijuana talk with AG Holder | Local News | The Seattle Times

 

[J9BLACK]

Holder is just doing his job.

American treatment of cannabis has been a tool of oppression and repression for decades.

The president has failed to change this social injustice.

 

[Propa Gator]

One must consider the intentions and power of corporations in America, especially with the horrible and destructive USSC decision Citizens United

The power of any politician to effect change is miniscule, compared to the unlimited wealth of immoral eternal corporations.

 

[tielman]

For too long Americans have voted for the lesser of two evils. And we are looking at the results of that mindset right now. The bankrupt Republican party fielding loosers who pick no-hopers as their running mates as opposed to the Democrats playing "lessee how we can hoodwink the populace and even further the rest of the world, and along the way we're going to have indefinate incarceration without the option of a fair trial". Then the Veep can blame guns for the sickness of violence and mental instability brought about by the over-medicating Medical Assocoations in cahoots with what is called "big pharma" and it's incentives to try all these new drugs we've been working on (and remember we need a return on our investment!) We have to stop being the guinea pigs of The Social and Medical set. Perhaps, dare I say this, we have left junior school behind us and can accept the truth that a third party will not disrupt the entire continent. We obviously need more choice, and if you need proof that this is so I offer you The Candidates Debate? and the "other debate" that drew the better informed to its viewing.
As we are evolving into this new age the Federal and State agencies involved with our transition need especially to work together for the greater good of the Union. Ego bashing and political grandstanding fool no one. We've experienced a lot of that in the recent past. The time to work together is now. And our vision needs be clarity and not confusion. 8)