The Trump administration discussed Colorado’s cannabis industry with state and local officials this week during a fact-finding trip focused on the nation’s first recreational marijuana marketplace.
Federal officials attended meetings in Denver on Tuesday and Colorado Springs on Wednesday concerning the state’s thriving marijuana industry as Washington wrestles with the plant’s legal status, attendees said afterwards.
“Our purpose was to convey to them the strength of our regulatory system and our enforcement system and our policies and practices,” said Mark Bolton, Gov. John Hickenlooper’s chief marijuana advisor.
“I think (the federal officials) viewed this as an educational opportunity,” Mr. Bolton told The Cannabist.
White House, State and Justice Department officials met Tuesday with members of John Hickenlooper’s office and state Attorney General Cynthia, among others, “as part of the administration’s ongoing work to improve the health and safety of our nation’s communities,” the president’s Office of National Drug Control Policy said Friday.
The governor initiated the meeting earlier this year by inviting the Trump administration to Colorado but did not participate in Tuesday’s discussion, Mr. Bolton said. The governor’s and state attorney general’s offices said in a joint statement they “were pleased” the Trump administration accepted their invitation.
“The meeting focused on sharing Colorado’s experience creating and executing a robust and effective regulatory and enforcement system, and our continuing efforts to protect public health and public safety,” the statement said. “Our conversation with the federal delegation was productive and we look forward to continued collaboration.”
A similar meeting took place Wednesday in Colorado Springs between federal officials and Mayor John Suthers and the city’s police chief, among others, mostly “centered around the huge black market that exists for marijuana in Colorado,” Mr. Suthers, the former state attorney general, told KKTV 11.
The visit aimed to “find out what law enforcement and other regulatory agencies’ view is toward marijuana regulation in Colorado,” he added.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been a vocal opponent of marijuana since before taking office, and his appointment has raised concerns among cannabis industry stakeholders in Colorado and elsewhere who risk being affected by federal intervention.
Colorado voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2012 and put in place a mechanism for regulating and taxing the plant in spite of the federal government’s prohibition on pot. Seven states and the nation’s capital have since followed suit, while medical marijuana is legal in most of the country.
Federal officials did not discuss taking any federal action against Colorado’s marijuana industry during Tuesday’s meeting, Mr. Bolton told The Cannabist.
Colorado’s legal marijuana industry generated more than $1 billion in sales last year, and a report released this week concluded that the state has collected more than $500 million in taxes since weed sales began Jan. 1, 2014.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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