Could Sessions’ marijuana policy shift benefit the cannabis industry in 2018?

Uncertainty interjected into the cannabis industry earlier this month by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions could create new opportunities for the sector and advance legalization legislation.

But the realities of a post-Cole Memo legal landscape underscore just why the National Cannabis Industry Association exists, the organization’s executive director Aaron Smith told the Colorado Cannabis Caucus Tuesday evening.

The demise of the Cole Memo — Obama-era U.S. Department of Justice guidance on marijuana enforcement — needs to be taken seriously by the entire industry, he told the gathering of 250 NCIA members in downtown Denver.

“But it’s important to note that this was not a major, substantive shift in policy,” Smith said. “U.S. attorneys have prosecutorial discretion around which cases they prosecute — just as they always have.”

Read the rest of this article at The Cannabist.