O<\/span>n Tuesday, the city council in Berkeley, California voted to officially become a \u201csanctuary city\u201d for recreational cannabis.<\/p>\n The move came in response to fears that Attorney General Jeff Sessions could take legal action against states with adult-use cannabis following his revocation of the Cole Memo in January<\/a>, despite overwhelming backlash from both Congress and the American public.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout guidelines as to how the federal government will or will not engage with cannabis related businesses, there is increased confusion about the legal risk of entering the newly regulated market in the state of California,\u201d read the council\u2019s resolution. \u201cIncreased federal enforcement of marijuana will have serious social and economic consequences. Uncertainty about potential enforcement and or enforcement itself may force established medical and adult-use cannabis-related businesses to close or move underground, which could impede the development of the newly regulated market and threaten public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n By making itself a cannabis sanctuary city, Berkeley prohibited city agencies and staff from using municipal resources to assist in the enforcement of federal marijuana law or provide any information on the city\u2019s legal permitted cannabis businesses, which includes three of the oldest dispensaries in the country and many recently permitted manufacturers.<\/p>\n In the resolution, the council noted since the adoption of the city\u2019s 1979 ballot initiative<\/a>, Berkeley has recognized the harmful impacts of prosecuting marijuana users. Since 1979, this law has instructed the city government to support all efforts towards the reform of marijuana laws and directs the Berkeley Police Department to give the lowest priority to the enforcement of marijuana law.<\/p>\n It\u2019s official: I have signed the resolution declaring #Berkeley<\/a> a sanctuary for cannabis. pic.twitter.com\/d6mWifX9OR<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jesse Arreguin (@JesseArreguin) February 15, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The Feb. 13 resolution went on to note the council explicitly supported the cannabis industry against the federal government in 2008, when the Department of Justice began the\u00a0now-failed proceedings against Berkeley Patients Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n On January 1, when legal adult sales kicked off in California<\/a>, Berkeley\u2019s Mayor Jesse Arregu\u00edn spoke with Cannabis Now about the city continuing to lead on the cannabis issue. Arregu\u00edn called that historic day a result of years of advocacy.<\/p>\n \u201cBerkeley has always been at the forefront of cannabis reform,\u201d said Arregu\u00edn, while noting his excitement the day had finally arrived. \u201cWe\u2019re blazing a path to a new future in California.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Sabrina Fendrick, the government relations director at the dispensary Berkeley Patients Group, was pleased to see the city continue its longstanding support for legal marijuana. \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to see the city taking this step in publicly supporting the cannabis industry in Berkeley,\u201d she told Cannabis Now.<\/p>\n When asked whether she thought this was a bigger move than the city\u2019s previous legal support for the industry, Fendrick noted, \u201dIt\u2019s sort of more symbolic than legal. Those were more deliberate actions to support the industry, this is more of a public statement of support.\u201d<\/p>\n In Sacramento, the California Cannabis Industry Association<\/a> backed the move by the city council.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, Berkeley leads the nation in protecting the will of the California voter!\u201d CCIA Communications and Outreach Director Josh Drayton told Cannabis Now in an email.<\/p>\n Drayton went on to congratulate Berkeley on being the first city in the county to take action.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the recent threats of crackdown on California\u2019s voter-supported adult-use cannabis industry by AG Sessions and the DOJ, Berkeley has become the first city in the country to declare their right as a sanctuary city for adult-use cannabis,\u201d Drayton wrote.<\/p>\n Berkeley also voted on a tax ordinance that would see the local tax rate for cannabis purchases drop to 5 percent<\/a>, but the city council will have to vote again in two weeks in order for the discount to take effect.<\/p>\n TELL US,<\/strong> do you want your city to be a cannabis sanctuary city?<\/p>\n The post Berkeley Declares Itself a Cannabis Sanctuary City<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Berkeley, California appears to be the first city in the nation to officially prohibit city employees from cooperating with federal action against the city\u2019s legal cannabis industry. On Tuesday, the city council in Berkeley, California voted to officially become a \u201csanctuary city\u201d for recreational cannabis. The move came in responseContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[148,50,80,81,3359],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23764"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23764"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23765,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23764\/revisions\/23765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Berkeley Declares Itself a Cannabis Sanctuary City<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"