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).
Top Chinese officials secretly determined they were likely facing a pandemic from a new coronavirus in mid-January, ordering preparations even as they downplayed it in public.
Tatyana Popkova, chief strategy officer for the health system, talked to Cheddar about how the innovative medical center was designed to take on challenges such as a patient surge from a pandemic.
Vinny Variale, a Lieutenant for the Fire Department of New York City and president of the Uniformed EMS Officers Union said regardless of CDC or FDNY recommendations, EMS workers should always have protective gear on emergency calls amid the pandemic.
While Alinea, located in Chicago, Illinois, serves high-end meals, co-owner Nick Kokonas said they recognized early on that the stay-at-home orders were going to be in place for a while.
Tommy Berges, a veteran paramedic and firefighter out of Washtenaw County, Michigan, said the outbreak has extended emergency response times from the outset.
Transit unions are calling for greater protections for their employees, as coronavirus has taken a heavy toll on bus drivers and train operators working on the frontlines.
The severe weather outbreak came with much of the nation shut down because of the new coronavirus. In Alabama, people huddled into community storm shelters wearing protective masks to guard against the threat.
For Sasha Kogan a Peace Corps volunteer, border closures caused by the pandemic meant a frantic multi-day evacuation from Cameroon to Washington, DC, culminating with her far from her NYC roots to find herself in Illinois without benefits or a clue as to what's next.
Social workers at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn are urging hospital administrators to let them work from home but say they are coming up against a company line that maintains every health care worker needs to do their part and show up in person, whether their job demands it or not.
Circle K, the international convenience store chain, is donating a meal to those in need with every fuel transaction, even as the company's own sales have fallen precipitously due to coronavirus.
