Federal officials have revoked an Irvine man’s airport fast-track security clearance for one reason: he owns a licensed marijuana business.
“They’re treating me like a criminal,” said Aaron Herzberg, a Los Angeles-based attorney who owns several state-sanctioned marijuana ventures.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say they’re simply upholding their policy of “zero tolerance for drugs.”
The revocation is the latest example of the growing conflict between state and federal marijuana laws.
California and eight other states have legalized recreational marijuana, while 29 states permit medical marijuana. But the federal government still considers marijuana an illegal drug on par with heroin. That means cannabis consumers in pot-legal states can lose their jobs, insurance, gun rights and more because of federal pressure.
Those challenges are familiar to Herzberg, who has shared ownership of two Santa Ana dispensaries since 2015 and is involved in other industry projects with his company, CalCann Holdings. But while the federal status of cannabis has prompted some hurdles for his business ventures, such as banking and tax limitations, he said the revocation of his security clearance is the first time federal sanctions have hit him personally.
Herzberg flies about 15 times a year for work and pleasure. So a few years ago, he joined the several million Americans who are in Department of Homeland Security’s Global Entry Program.
Read the full story at The Cannifornian.
