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).
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The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held a hotly debated hearing regarding fiat-backed stablecoins on Tuesday that still led to a conclusion the space needed some form of regulation.
Under Chair Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve is poised this week to execute a sharp turn toward tighter interest-rate policies with inflation accelerating and unemployment falling faster than expected.
Cheddar has been covering the biggest news of the week with some of the biggest names in the biz. In case you missed it, we've pulled together some of the highlights that will keep you informed as we get ready for the week ahead.
Prices were up 6.8 percent year-over-year In November, according to the latest consumer price index from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A British appellate court opened the door Friday for Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States by overturning a lower court's decision that the WikiLeaks founder's mental health was too fragile to withstand the American criminal justice system.
New Zealand’s government believes it has come up with a unique plan to end tobacco smoking — a lifetime ban for those aged 14 or younger.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plunged last week to the lowest level in 52 years, more evidence that the U.S. job market is recovering from last year’s coronavirus recession.
Congress got a crash course in crypto on Wednesday, as six executives from companies representing a cross-section of the digital economy answered questions from the House Financial Services Committee.
In the spirit of the holidays, Cheddar presents the 12 days of the top terms of 2021.
