California might be doubling down on its pro-marijuana stance.
Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín told Cheddar that the state could soon follow in his city’s cannabis law footsteps.
“California is actually looking at potentially becoming a sanctuary state for cannabis, just like we’re a sanctuary state for enforcement of federal immigration laws,” he told Cheddar on Tuesday.
Berkeley’s City Council announced last month that municipal agencies would no longer collaborate with the Drug Enforcement Administration to enforce federal policies on recreational, adult-use marijuana. It became the first “sanctuary” city for marijuana in the U.S.
The move was a direct jab at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who earlier this year scrapped Obama-era rules that said the federal government would not interfere with states’ cannabis laws. Arreguín encourages states and cities looking to offer citizens an extra layer of protection to take the plunge and stand for states’ rights.
“Cannabis is still a drug under federal law, but many states … have actually decided that now is the time for decriminalization,” he said, “to remove the black market, to address the social impact that the war on drugs has had on communities of color, and to try to level the playing field.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/berkeley-mayor-california-could-become-marijuana-sanctuary-state).
As Twitter waded into controversy for taking steps to fight misinformation and controversial remarks from perhaps its most famous tweeter, President Donald Trump, Facebook has taken the opposite tack, but with no less backlash.
Coronavirus cases are rising in nearly half the U.S. states. And while many are chalked up to increased testing or to small, local outbreaks, others are more alarming.
MTA Chairman Pat Foye wants to reassure New York City riders that mass transit is safe amid Phase 1 reopening from the pandemic..
Traditionally around this time of the year, advertisers and agencies attend hours of pitches from media companies featuring their most promising TV shows and marquee events for the upcoming year. Like so many things in 2020, this year is different.
As massive waves of protesters in communities across the U.S. call for fundamental changes in American policing, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter told Cheddar the nation must find a balance between good policing and civilian safety.
Hundreds of mourners packed a Houston church Tuesday for the funeral of George Floyd, the black man whose death has inspired a worldwide reckoning over racial injustice.
A top World Health Organization expert has tried to clear up “misunderstandings” about comments she made that were widely understood to suggest that people without COVID-19 symptoms rarely transmit the coronavirus.
After three gloomy months and 21,000 deaths that made it the nation's most lethal hot spot, New York City slowly began reopening Monday in the biggest test yet of Americans' ability to keep the coronavirus in check.
Dr. Patrice Harris, speaking to Cheddar the day after her tenure at the American Medical Association ended, leaves the nation’s largest association of physicians at a time of remarkable upheaval for the medical community.
Cheddar followed the ongoing demonstrations in New York City on Thursday as protesters vowed to continue pushing back against police brutality and systemic racism.
