Some States Considering 'Sanctuary' Status for Marijuana Businesses
Officials in some states that have legalized marijuana but are wary of a potential federal crackdown from Attorney General Jeff Sessions' Justice Department are taking a page from the immigration battle and considering giving "sanctuary" status to licensed pot businesses, barring local authorities from cooperating with the federal government in enforcing anti-marijuana laws.
Even as more states have made recreational pot use legal, it still remains illegal under federal law, and Sessions announced in January that federal prosecutors would be free to crack down on marijuana businesses at their own discretion. That ended a 2013 policy that limited federal enforcement as long as states that had legalized marijuana made sure it was kept from children and didn't go outside the state.
Berkeley, California, which was the first city in the country to declare itself a sanctuary city on immigration last month did the same for marijuana businesses, and lawmakers in Alaska, California and Massachusetts are considering doing the same thing.
(Pulse Networks)