Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/756327
ByKristenWyatt The Associated Press DENVER Weediswinning in the polls, with a solid majority of Americans say- ing marijuana should be le- gal. But does that mean the federal government will let dozens of state pot exper- iments play out? Not by a long shot. The government still has many means to slow or stop the marijuana train. And President-elect Donald Trump's nomina- tion of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions to be the next at- torney general has raised fears that the new admin- istration could crack down on weed-tolerant states 20 years after California be- came the first to legalize medical marijuana. "We need grown-ups in charge in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized. It ought not to be minimized, that it's in fact a very real danger," Sessions said during an April Senate hearing. The Controlled Sub- stances Act bans pot even for medical purposes. A closer look at some of the government's options for enforcing it: Take'emtocourt The government rarely invokes its authority to sue states, but it's the quickest path to compli- ance. The Justice Depart- ment could file lawsuits on the grounds that state laws regulating pot are uncon- stitutional because they are pre-empted by federal law. Something similar hap- pened in 2010, when the Justice Department suc- cessfully sued Arizona to block an immigration law that conflicted with federal immigration law. Federal courts can also compel action, not just block it, as in Kentucky last year, when a county clerk was ordered to issue mar- riage licenses to same-sex couples following a land- mark Supreme Court rul- ing. Twenty-eight states and Washington, D.C., allow marijuana for medical or recreational purposes. The government has yet to sue any of them. Raid pot businesses The government could avoid court entirely if it doesn't mind a more ex- pensive option: law-en- forcement raids. The Drug Enforcement Administration retains the legal ability to shut down anyone selling or grow- ing pot, but there has been no coordinated federal at- tempt to close pot produc- ers in multiple states. The agency has said repeatedly that it does not have the re- sources to pursue ordinary pot users. Any change in that ap- proach would likely re- quire more money from Congress, which just saw many of its constituents vote in favor of legalization. And a federal agency prob- ably will not spend limited resources busting people growing pot for personal use, said John McKay, a for- mer U.S. attorney in Wash- ington state. "Who is going to stop people from smoking pot in a residence in Denver? Fed- eral agents?" he said. "They are going to stop doing ter- rorism investigations and start arresting people for pot? That, to me, is crazy." Financial hurdles It's the biggest complaint in the weed business: taxes. Businesses selling mar- ijuana cannot use tax breaks or incentives offered to other small businesses, and some of them say they pay 80 percent or more of every dollar on taxes and fees. They have limited ac- cess to banking because many financial institutions are leery of the paperwork they are required to file on clients working with mar- ijuana. Colorado officials tried last year to ease the bank- ing burden by setting up a special credit union to safely handle pot-shops money, only to see the Fed- eral Reserve Bank and fed- eral courts block the effort. As long as Congress and the new administra- tion leave those hurdles in place, the marijuana busi- ness will grow haltingly. Voters may generally sup- port pot legalization, but few have sympathy for a pot entrepreneur unable to become a multimillion- aire because of banking ob- stacles. Stricter regulations Government officials who are skeptical of mar- ijuana but also leery of go- ing against public opin- ion can use regulation and red tape to slow commer- cial pot. Legalization oppo- nents frequently decry the strength of today's mari- juana, an argument that provides political cover for pot skeptics who once used the drug themselves and gives legalization op- ponents a backdoor route to blocking weed. In Colorado, for example, marijuana skeptics nearly succeeded earlier this year in getting state lawmakers to cap commercial pot po- tency. The proposal would have banned some 80 per- cent of the pot products on shelves. Delays can be just as damaging. Even in Colo- rado, the first state out of the gate with recreational stores, businesses complain of long waits to get permits or licenses. A few shops were hobbled in 2015 when Denver health authorities raised alarms about pesti- cides and banned the sale of thousands of plants. The marijuana indus- try has grown under three presidents, each opposed to legalized weed. The Obama administra- tion has generally shied away from pursuing com- mercial operators who comply with state-level rules. When states began pushing the marijuana ex- periment beyond the med- ical realm, former Attorney General Eric Holder urged them to keep the drug away from criminals, kids, fed- eral lands and other states where it remains illegal. MARIJUANA We ed i s wi nni ng , bu t th e tr ai n could still go off the tracks RYANKANG—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Shane Cavanaugh, owner of Amazon Organics, a pot dispensary in Eugene, Ore., arranges the cannabis display in his store. JOHN ANTCZAK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Trailing bands of clouds pass over downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. By John Antczak The Associated Press LOS ANGELES California had vital snow on Sierra Nevada peaks Monday and positive rainfall totals reg- istered for many areas af- ter a stormy autumn week- end up and down the state that hopes to avoid a sixth consecutive year of drought conditions. In the Sierra, where the annual snowpack functions as a reservoir for much of the state's water supply, storms over Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks dumped 19 inches of snow at Lodgepole and 16 inches at Grant Grove, the Na- tional Weather Service said. Southern California mountains also saw snow accumulations, including 5 inches at Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino range, where two ski areas be- gan limited operations. To the west, Mountain High ski area in the San Gabriel Mountains planned to open Tuesday. "Not a bad way to end November," the Hanford weather office wrote on its web page. When the 2016 water year ended on Sept. 30, the state Department of Water Resources characterized it as a "snow drought," with most of California's precip- itation falling as rain and not much of it overall. What snowpack there was melted early in the spring due to record warmth and was substan- tially absorbed by soil be- fore reaching the state's huge storage reservoirs. Where it didn't snow over the long Thanksgiv- ing weekend, the storms brought measurable rain al- most everywhere, boosting hopes for a turnaround in the state's drought outlook. San Francisco has now received about 4.5 inches of rain since the start of the new water year on Oct. 1, putting the city about a half- inch above normal to date. "This is the greatest amount reported for the start of the water year since 2010," the local weather ser- vice office said. In the agricultural San Joaquin Valley, Fresno, Madera and Merced were also at above-normal pre- cipitation levels. Some points, such as the far northwest coast, are ex- tremely on the positive side. Eureka has received 17.51 inches of rain since Oct. 1, more than 10 inches above normal to date. A year ago the Humboldt Bay city had barely more than 6 inches by this time. In the south, rainfall amounts so far this water year have also shown im- provement. Downtown Los Ange- les has received 1.4 inches of rain, just .17 inch below normal but more than three times the .46 inch that had accumulated a year ago. California tallies sn ow , ra in f ro m weekend storms WEATHER The Associated Press SAN DIEGO The wealthi- est member of Congress is keeping his job. Republican Darrell Issa narrowly defeated Marine- turned-lawyer Doug Apple- gate after a bitter contest in in the 49th District north of San Diego. Unofficial returns Mon- day showed Issa holding a 2,348-vote edge, with only a small number of votes left to tally. Vote-counting ex- tended for weeks after the election as officials tallied late-arriving mail ballots and those filled out at poll- ing places. For years, the eight-term congressman and chief antagonist of President Barack Obama and Demo- crat Hillary Clinton faced scant competition in the Republican-leaning dis- trict. But Donald Trump's presence on the top of the ticket and diversifying elec- torate opened the way for a tight contest. "I am eager to continue working to advance the best interests of the American people and restoring the focus of Washington where it belongs: Economic pros- perity, national security and government account- ability," Issa said in a state- ment. "With our newly uni- fied government, we have the opportunity to lead the country in a new and better direction." Republicans are on track to hold at least 240 seats in the House next year. With Issa keeping his seat, the only unresolved races left in the country are in Lou- isiana. Democrats, who hoped for significant gains in the election, picked up just six seats on Election Day and remain in the minority with 194 seats. VOTE COUNT California's Darrell Issa narrowly wins re-election By Paul Elias The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Author- ities in the San Francisco Bay Area are investigat- ing the slaying of a young black man as a possible hate crime amid growing concern over racially moti- vated incidents and attacks nationwide. The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department ar- rested one white suspect and is searching for two others thought to be in- volved in the Nov. 12 killing of a 28-year-old musician. Investigators say Will Sims was robbed, beaten and shot to death in the wee hours outside a bar near his hometown of Richmond. Investigators say Sims worked as a retail clerk, had no gang ties and a clean criminal record. Authorities arrested 31-year-old Daniel Porter- Kelly and charged him with robbery and murder with a hate crime enhancement. Authorities are search- ing for 32-year-old Ray Si- mons and 31-year-old Dan- iel Ortega and didn't elab- orate on the hate crime allegations or the details of the homicide. Porter-Kelly remains jailed without bail. Porter-Kelly's attorney Colin Cooper says his cli- ent denies involvement in the killing and that pros- ecutors have not yet pro- vided any evidence or de- tails supporting the hate crime accusation. Contra Costa County ho- micide prosecutor Derek Butts declined to discuss details of the case or the evidence supporting the hate crime allegation, not- ing that investigators were still searching for two mur- der suspects. The Southern Poverty Law Center says it has documented 701 "reports of hateful incidents of ha- rassment around the coun- try" since the presidential election. Since then, the Coun- cil on American-Islamic Relations says it has doc- umented about 100 "anti- Muslim" incidents, includ- ing an anonymous letter mailed to several Califor- nia mosques saying Pres- ident-elect Donald Trump will exterminate Muslims. The population of Rich- mond is 36 percent black, making it the largest eth- nic group in the city. Rich- mond Mayor Tom Butt said Sims' slaying appeared to be a hate crime and urged community restraint. "I urge Richmond resi- dents to maintain our city's values of respect and care for one another, especially during a time when we are experiencing a nationwide surge in hate-filled hostil- ity and threats to public safety," Butt said Satur- day in a statement. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Authorities: Homicide may involve racial motivations ALSCO, INC. 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