BOSTON (WHDH) - President Donald Trump’s administration said it is planning to step up federal enforcement of marijuana and advocates in Massachusetts said this could have a negative impact on the state.
Voters in Massachusetts chose to legalize recreational marijuana back in November. Now there are questions about what Trump’s administration may do to crack down on marijuana use. While no details were offered, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said there will be “greater enforcement.”
The call for greater enforcement is a reversal of the policy under former President Barack Obama. In a memo, the Obama administration said the federal government would not interfere in states where non-medical use of marijuana is allowed.
Will Luzier, the political director of the Yes On Four Coalition, worked to legalize recreational marijuana in Massachusetts. He said if the federal government starts cracking down, the black market could grow and Massachusetts could lose out.
“There’s hundreds of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions and billions of tax revenue that’s coming to those states and they don’t want to give that up,” said Luzier.
Massachusetts lawmakers have already delayed the opening date for the sale of recreational marijuana to July of 2018.
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