Even with California, the sixth biggest economy in the world, legalizing pot, incongruities in state and federal law hinder growth in the marijuana market.
That’s according to Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
“Californians, like most Americans, believe that it’s preferable to have the commercial marijuana market governed by licensed businesses, rather than by cartels and drug dealers,” Armentano said.
“But unfortunately these businesses, even when they are state compliant and locally compliant, largely cannot act in a transparent manner, because they do not have access to banking. They can’t run credit cards, and we see little accountability or transparency because of this conflict with the federal government.”
But there might be some progress. Legalizing marijuana on a federal level has gained bipartisan support in Congress, with Representatives Tom Garrett (R-VA) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) introducing a bill last March calling for an end to marijuana prohibition on the federal level.
The “Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2017” would put legislative power in the hands of states and remove cannabis as a Schedule I drug. Knowingly taking marijuana to a state where it’s prohibited, though, would still be subject to criminal penalties.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/weed-across-america-federal-vs-state-laws).
A Texas judge on Thursday granted a pregnant woman permission to obtain an abortion in an unprecedented challenge to the state’s ban that took effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned last year.
House members voted again Thursday to punish one of their own, targeting Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman for triggering a fire alarm in one of the U.S. Capitol office buildings in September when the chamber was in session.
The Senate has failed to advance a bill that would provide aid to Ukraine and Israel.
A Nevada grand jury indicted six Republicans who submitted certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 presidential race.
Former President Donald Trump has returned to his New York civil business fraud trial again.
Columnist and political analyst Jonathan Harris provided a full recap of Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate.
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The four Republican presidential candidates debating Wednesday night mostly targeted each other instead of Donald Trump. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley took the brunt of the attacks as she gets more interest from donors and voters.
Word about McCarthy's future had been expected the approach of the filing deadline to seek reelection. His departure will leave the already paper-thin House GOP majority even tighter, with just a few seats to spare.
