In an interview on Thursday, Sean Spicer confirms fears that the White House may be cracking down on the Recreational Cannabis market.

“I do believe you will see greater enforcement of it,“ White House press secretary Sean Spicer said regarding federal drug laws, which still list marijuana as an illegal substance.

In the interview, Spicer says that the White House acknowledges a difference between medical and recreational cannabis and then goes on to compare recreational cannabis with the opioid addiction epidemic across the US. Apparently he has not seen the studies that show cannabis is a great way to break opioid addiction. Further more, he makes no reference to how he will deal with the opioid epidemic other than cracking down on the cannabis industry.

“When you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we should be doing is encouraging people,“ Spicer said. “There is still a federal law that we need to abide by when it comes to recreational marijuana and drugs of that nature.“

Under the Obama Administration, states were left to decide for themselves what they would do about recreational and medical marijuana laws. This may change with the new administration. Most drug enforcement operations are carried out by the state with little involvement from the federal government. Enforcing marijuana laws is a low priority for federal agents who are more focused on opioid abuse throughout the nation.

It remains unclear where the president stands on all of this. While he has voiced that he thinks cannabis legalization should be a state issue, his actions seem to contradict this. His entire administration is made up of people who have stated that cannabis has no medical value.

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/politics/white-house-marijuana-donald-trump-pot/

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/02/trump_marijuana_february_23_sp.html

http://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/white-house-doj-marijuana-enforcement.html

Bryce Sampson

A caffeine dependent life form.