CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY PUSHES FORWARD SANCTUARY BILL AGAINST FEDERAL CANNABIS LAWS

Last week, the California Assembly pushed through a new bill that will prevent state and local police in California from helping federal enforcement of marijuana laws.

According to Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, who authored the bill, the legislation will help protect California’s legal marijuana system from the federal government, and specifically the Trump administration, which has threatened to increase enforcement of federal marijuana laws.

Critics argue that the bill would put local law enforcement in harm’s way when they refuse to cooperate with federal officials. In response to concern that the bill could make it harder for law enforcement to detect illegal marijuana activity in the legal market, Jones-Sawyer stated he was open to revision that would allow local law enforcement to cooperate with federal agents when state laws have been violated.

Several other states with legal recreational marijuana, including Colorado and Washington, are also considering bills to protect people who are in compliance with state laws and operate within the legal marijuana market from interference from the federal government.