The First Shot of Trump’s War on Weed: Feds Ice Cannabis Cup

Media speculation about the DOJ’s approach to cannabis enforcement under President Donald Trump has degenerated into a cacophony of hypothetical best and worst-case scenarios. But a sternly-worded letter from a U.S. Attorney to a Native American reservation scheduled to host a cannabis cup — the first declarative official statement on cannabis since Trump’s election — marks the opening salvo of a new war on weed.

An exclusive report by the Reno Gazette-Journal revealed a stern letter of warning, sent by U.S. Attorney General Daniel Bogden to the Moapa Paiute Tribe, which is scheduled to host the cup on their tribal reservation just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the letter, Bogden informs the tribe that the DOJ is aware of its intentions to host the event and reminds them that cannabis is still illegal under federal law.

“I am informed that the tribal council is moving forward with the planned marijuana event referred to as the 2017 High Times Cannabis Cup because it is under the impression that the so-called ‘Cole Memorandum’ and subsequent memoranda from the Department of Justice permit marijuana use, possession and distribution on tribal lands when the state law also permits it,” Bogden wrote. “Unfortunately, this is an incorrect interpretation of the Department’s position on this issue.”

cannabisnow.com...

The interesting part to me, is where the letter says that legal recreational use, where ruled legal by the state, is an incorrect interpretation of the Cole memo.

This is the first official statement on cannabis by the Justice Department under Trump. I really hope it's not a sign of things to come.

The tribes are supposedly under their own jurisdiction on the reservations. This administration is getting worse by the hour.

a reply to: underwerks

Recreational weed... Is still out for debate.

Some say it has increased crime, increased unemployment and such in Colorado, for instance.

Some say those statistics are crap.

On the other hand, I just wish they'd finally make it legal for medical universally. It has a lot of benefits, and we all know the reasons that there's so many people against weed in the first place.

Which makes me ask - Is he really against big pharma, like some people pretend he is?

a reply to: CB328

Yes, as far as I understand it, they are meant to be sovereign - I knew some people from a reservation and it seemed like they could have their own laws, even contradictory to the states laws ( While on the res. )

Follow the money.

I think this is a war the Trump admin will ultimately lose.

I was thinking this maybe had something to do with it being on tribal land, but should that even matter with something like this?

originally posted by: deadlyhope
a reply to: underwerks

Recreational weed... Is still out for debate.

Some say it has increased crime, increased unemployment and such in Colorado, for instance.

Some say those statistics are crap.

On the other hand, I just wish they'd finally make it legal for medical universally. It has a lot of benefits, and we all know the reasons that there's so many people against weed in the first place.

Which makes me ask - Is he really against big pharma, like some people pretend he is?

You're talking around 100,000 jobs that stand to be lost if the Trump admin goes through with this. Not to mention the number of people that will be criminalized overnight.
www.learngreenflower.com...
All the statistics I've seen show crime is down, along with opiate use in places with recreational cannabis.

I'm sure Sessions finds his own statistics, though.

Marijuana has Ruuuuuiiiiiined my life and I need government to save me from myself by either throwing me in prison if I get caught buying it or smoking it, and pump me full of pharmaceuticals so I don't have to worry about not having suicidal thoughts as a side effect

I have a friend who is attending cannabis cup this year (in Vegas currently). I wonder if this will turn out to be true.

People that don't like cannabis cup shouldn't go. Problem solved. It's the pot equivalency of a giant party or concert that sells alcohol - yet I hardly hear any complains about that.

originally posted by: six67seven
Follow the money.



I think this is a war the Trump admin will ultimately lose.

Yep, when Trump was elected, and many said he was not bought and paid for, I asked what is he going to do about the thousands of politicians around him that are?

I heard crickets
Worse still, he picked Sessions himself that is against it


There is not a Democrat in the house but the same people are still in power

Deep Pocket Special Interests

originally posted by: RomeByFire
I have a friend who is attending cannabis cup this year (in Vegas currently). I wonder if this will turn out to be true.

People that don't like cannabis cup shouldn't go. Problem solved. It's the pot equivalency of a giant party or concert that sells alcohol - yet I hardly hear any complains about that.

If the FEDs stage raids or make a public scene about the cannabis that will inadvertently be there, I could see this being the first big media story about the cannabis issue.

a reply to: underwerks

A few years back, Iowa passed legislation making gay marriage illegal, and subsequently became one of the first States to have legal gay marriage when the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional.

A similar thing happened in Illinois with the state / Chicago especially, putting more restrictions on gun ownership. The courts, upholding the Constitution, stepped in and now concealed carry is legal throughout Illinois, including Chicago.

I expect the same to happen with this insanity coming from the Trump administration regarding marijuana. They're going to keep pushing, and eventually the Supreme Court will hear a case that will result in legalization of marijuana nationwide. When that happens, I'm curious whether there will be any stopping broad legalization of all recreational drugs.

I hope it happens - crime and incarceration rates would come crashing down, along with the modern slave owners known as for-profit prisons.

a reply to: underwerks

Here is my bit of unsolicited advice to those in the pro-recreational marijuana crowd.......

1) Distance yourselves from entities like High Times and events like Smoke Outs.

I think (or believe) that the majority of people are like myself. We did what we did with the plant "back in the day" and have since moved on. That being said, many of us have nothing against the substance and (on a case by case basis) have nothing against those who partake.

However, to many of us who long ago retired the bongs and papers.... the High Times and Smoke Outs and this Cup thing come across as very immature and sophomoric. Whether or not these views are valid is irrelevant because it's not the pot smokers that you need to get on your side.... it's the rest of us.

2) Stop comparing Pot to Booze (and Pills and etc etc etc).

One thing that I typically hear from the pro-marijuana people is that "booze is worse because blah-blah-blah." There is actually a lot of merit to that but again, to those of us who haven't indulged in years and years it just sounds like whining. If anything, it almost seems to have the opposite affect to the extent that people may start to ponder banning more mind altering substances, not less.

3) Stop pretending that smoking pot recreationally has no negative side affects.

Everything we ingest has side affects. Fast food affects us. Spicy food affects us. Taking Advil affects our organs. (Something I've been looking into but that is for another thread that I'll probably never write).

If someone lights up a joint I find it completely irrational that they don't think there are any side affects. A person is literally lighting something on fire and breathing smoke into their lungs..... '
I understand there are vaporized ways to indulge these days but I still maintain that anything that you breathe in that (in a relatively quick fashion) alters your state of mind.... is going to have side affects.

That, in and of itself is okay... but the pro-pot people should own that rather than pretend it doesn't exist.

In Conclusion
I know (KNOW) that there are very valid medicinal uses for marijuana. I don't mean the compressed-into-a-pill-form but the straight up smoked form.

I also know (KNOW) that pot isn't the worst drug in the world.

On the other side of the coin, and this is easy for me to say in retrospect because hindsight is 20-20, doing what I did didn't do myself any favors. (And yes, I acknowledge that everyone reacts differently to different substances so I can't use my own experience to make decisions for others).

Like I wrote earlier.... In order to bring marijuana into the full fledge mainstream and make it fully legal..... you will need much more than pot-smokers.... you are going to need a large amount of the rest of us and the purpose of my post here was just a bit of advice.

At this exact moment in time, if there was something on a local ballot for me to vote on, based on everything I hear and see and read.... I would vote "no" to the pot-smokers.

originally posted by: eluryh22
I would vote "no" to the pot-smokers.

What gives you the right to tell me what I can do with my body?
Is pot smoking known to cause mass public disturbances or heavy addiction leading to criminal activity and/or death?


No...

So, someone peacefully consuming a pretty light substance in their own private residence or a place designated for that somehow offends you enough to side with government literally destroying lives because...what...you did it and no longer care much for it..so time to tell others what they can eat/drink/smoke?

I would vote you aren't allowed to use the internet..I used it, but found it not that great..therefore the government should arrest you for using the internet cause I dont like it.

I dont even smoke the stuff, haven't in well over a decade, but have no problem with others who do, and who am I to say anything even if I found it repulsive?

I believe that reservations have to follow federal laws, since Nevada has joined the club can't they host it on state property or does the new law go in effect later this year?

a reply to: underwerks

FYI, this has nothing to do with Trump or his administration.

originally posted by: eluryh22
a reply to: underwerks

Here is my bit of unsolicited advice to those in the pro-recreational marijuana crowd.......

1) Distance yourselves from entities like High Times and events like Smoke Outs.

I think (or believe) that the majority of people are like myself. We did what we did with the plant "back in the day" and have since moved on. That being said, many of us have nothing against the substance and (on a case by case basis) have nothing against those who partake.

However, to many of us who long ago retired the bongs and papers.... the High Times and Smoke Outs and this Cup thing come across as very immature and sophomoric. Whether or not these views are valid is irrelevant because it's not the pot smokers that you need to get on your side.... it's the rest of us.

2) Stop comparing Pot to Booze (and Pills and etc etc etc).

One thing that I typically hear from the pro-marijuana people is that "booze is worse because blah-blah-blah." There is actually a lot of merit to that but again, to those of us who haven't indulged in years and years it just sounds like whining. If anything, it almost seems to have the opposite affect to the extent that people may start to ponder banning more mind altering substances, not less.

3) Stop pretending that smoking pot recreationally has no negative side affects.

Everything we ingest has side affects. Fast food affects us. Spicy food affects us. Taking Advil affects our organs. (Something I've been looking into but that is for another thread that I'll probably never write).

If someone lights up a joint I find it completely irrational that they don't think there are any side affects. A person is literally lighting something on fire and breathing smoke into their lungs..... '
I understand there are vaporized ways to indulge these days but I still maintain that anything that you breathe in that (in a relatively quick fashion) alters your state of mind.... is going to have side affects.

That, in and of itself is okay... but the pro-pot people should own that rather than pretend it doesn't exist.

In Conclusion
I know (KNOW) that there are very valid medicinal uses for marijuana. I don't mean the compressed-into-a-pill-form but the straight up smoked form.

I also know (KNOW) that pot isn't the worst drug in the world.

On the other side of the coin, and this is easy for me to say in retrospect because hindsight is 20-20, doing what I did didn't do myself any favors. (And yes, I acknowledge that everyone reacts differently to different substances so I can't use my own experience to make decisions for others).

Like I wrote earlier.... In order to bring marijuana into the full fledge mainstream and make it fully legal..... you will need much more than pot-smokers.... you are going to need a large amount of the rest of us and the purpose of my post here was just a bit of advice.

At this exact moment in time, if there was something on a local ballot for me to vote on, based on everything I hear and see and read.... I would vote "no" to the pot-smokers.

Asking me to distance myself from things like the cannabis cup is like asking someone who works at a winery to distance themselves from wine tastings.

You may see it as immature, but that's only YOUR perception, and if you knew anything about the industry, you'd see how false your perception of it is, and how your perception has been molded by almost a century of misinformation.

If people talking about the benefits of cannabis and comparing it to other substances sounds like whining to you, I suggest you educate yourself as to the true nature of what you're talking about. Edibles (non smoked cannabis) is an industry unto itself and has none of the health complications you associate with smoking. You only have to smoke it if you choose to these days.

No one is whining.

I'd say you and people like you need to change your false perceptions about cannabis, and the industry that is now flourishing. Don't expect everyone else to cater to what you've been taught about cannabis over the years, because the majority of it is lies and half truths.

originally posted by: Vector99
a reply to: underwerks

FYI, this has nothing to do with Trump or his administration.

FYI: this is only an issue because of who Trump appointed to Attorney General.

originally posted by: underwerks

originally posted by: Vector99
a reply to: underwerks

FYI, this has nothing to do with Trump or his administration.

FYI: this is only an issue because of who Trump appointed to Attorney General.

Umm, did you read your own source? Let's have a look at the bio of the actual AG that made the statement
Daniel G. Bogden

On July 31, 2009, Daniel G. Bogden was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the United States Attorney for the District of Nevada; he was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on September 15, 2009. As United States Attorney, Mr. Bogden represents the United States in all criminal and civil matters within the District of Nevada. The United States Attorney is the top federal law enforcement official in the state.

I know I know, those pesky details.

originally posted by: Vector99

originally posted by: underwerks

originally posted by: Vector99
a reply to: underwerks

FYI, this has nothing to do with Trump or his administration.

FYI: this is only an issue because of who Trump appointed to Attorney General.

Umm, did you read your own source? Let's have a look at the bio of the actual AG that made the statement
Daniel G. Bogden

On July 31, 2009, Daniel G. Bogden was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the United States Attorney for the District of Nevada; he was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on September 15, 2009. As United States Attorney, Mr. Bogden represents the United States in all criminal and civil matters within the District of Nevada. The United States Attorney is the top federal law enforcement official in the state.

I know I know, those pesky details.

Who now under Sessions, is sending this letter. Further proving this is a result of the new administration. Please try to keep up.