Gov. Hickenlooper (D-CO) on the Federal Fight Against Weed
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper says the only way to stay on the federal government’s good side in the fight against cannabis is to “regulate the living daylights out of it.”
The democrat told Cheddar in an interview Wednesday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ negative stance towards marijuana creates friction between state and federal authorities.
“It’s very frustrating,” he said. “If states really are the laboratories of democracy, [legalization] is a huge social experiment going on all across the country.”
That friction only creates uncertainty in the cannabis industry, leaving business leaders in a lurch.
“[But Sessions] wants that uncertainty, he wants it to be bad for business,” said Hickenlooper.
In order to maintain a positive relationship with the federal government, states like Colorado have to make sure there’s no risk of funny business, so opponents won’t be able to make a case against them.
“We’re going to make sure that it is not corrupt, we don’t have gangs, we don’t have cartels, we are really going to work as hard as we can to make this…clean and above board,” Hickenlooper explained, pointing out that Colorado’s cannabis industry is currently worth $1.5 billion a year and “there’s taxes collected” on that.
In 2012, Colorado became one of the first states to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.
“You can’t have laws that nobody obeys,” he said. “It’s just not good for society.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-one-thing-that-wakes-colorado-governor-john-hickenlooper-up-at-night).
Beginning in November, fully vaccinated international travelers will be able to enter the United States after months of travel restrictions. People under the age of 18 and those from countries without easy access to vaccines will not be required to be vaccinated but all travelers will need to show negative COVID test results before entering.
Apple could soon face a Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit after intensifying its probe into the tech giant, according to a report. The added scrutiny comes after the tech giant had already faced questioning in Washington and concluded an antitrust case brought by Epic Games.
Last week, shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp skyrocketed after following Former Present Trump's announcement that he would be partnering with the company as part of a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or SPAC. Christian Munafo, Chief Investment Officer of Liberty Street Advisors and portfolio Manager of the Private Shares Fund broke down the latest, including whether or not Wall Street is currently experiencing a SPAC boom.
Jill and Carlo cover the news out of Facebook's latest earnings, Tesla's monumental day, Dave Chappelle addresses controversy and the tragedy of the climate emergency.
Stocks began the week on a high note, with two indexes - the Dow and the S&P 500 - each closing at a record high. Brian Levitt, Global Market Strategist at Invesco, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why the conditions were in place for a jump during the session and provides insight on inflation concerns in the United States.
The price of Bitcoin hit a new all-time high last week following the Wall Street debut of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF. Todd Cipperman, Founding Principal for Cipperman Compliance Services, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why ProShares' ETF got off to a hot start while Valkyrie's Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which debuted just days later, did not.
Rishi Bharwani, the director of partnerships and policy for nonprofit Accountable Tech, joined Cheddar to discuss the hot button topic of regulatory oversight of social media giant Facebook. Bharwani discussed the bipartisan pieces of legislation already making their way through Congress and said the body should pass stronger data privacy laws, ban surveillance advertising, and require meaningful accountability and transparency from the company. "Now I think we've reached a boiling point where congressional action is needed and inaction is no longer acceptable," he said. Bharwani also called for a concurrent investigation into Mark Zuckerberg's company.
The United Nations COP26 climate talks are scheduled for October 31 to November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland. Heads of state will be joined by private sector leaders to once again discuss the shrinking window of time left to take action against global temperature rise. Barbara Humpton, CEO of focused technology company Siemens U.S., is also attending and spoke to Cheddar about what she hopes to see during the conference for both the public and private spheres. "What we are really urging is that there are large commitments made in Glasgow and that we really commit to this next decade of action," she said.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor at Rewire News Group and co-host of the Rewire News Group podcast, 'Boom! Lawyered,' joins Cheddar News to discuss the Supreme Court decision to hear Texas abortion ban cases on Monday, November first and the complicated timeline of legal challenges up to this point.
