In retrospect, Coloradans were naïve to believe that medical marijuana wasn’t a foot in the door for recreational use, or that once recreational pot was decriminalized here, the marijuana business wouldn’t grow quickly.
It may also have been naïve to believe that President Donald Trump, at least nominally a small-government, states’-rights Republican, would pause before taking aim at a decision by a majority of Colorado’s voters. Many of them were not advocates of marijuana use but voted “yes” for other reasons.
The president may have been motivated by the fact that it was the Obama administration’s decision not to prioritize the prosecution of marijuana users that opened the door for legalization. He may have noticed that three of four states where recreational pot use is legal supported his opponent last November. He may have been playing to his base.
For whatever reason, the White House announced last week that states where recreational marijuana is legal are likely to see “greater enforcement.”
One result may be the shrinkage of an economic niche that has provided some tax benefits for Colorado. Last year, marijuana sales accounted for $199 million in state taxes and fees, on total sales of $1.3 billion. That’s big business, and the revenue goes toward school construction, public health and law enforcement — not expenditures Coloradans will be eager to cut. The industry has also created jobs.
The president seems unwilling to target medical marijuana use, which accounts for about a third of the state’s marijuana sales. That distinction which could offer some shelter for people who had marijuana cards before recreational use was decriminalized.
Regardless of anyone’s opinion about whether marijuana use should be legal, it’s safe to say that by changing the federal policy on enforcement, the president burns state and local economies.
Trump has shown a willingness to change the national economy in big ways. A large-scale crackdown on undocumented workers would have drastic implications for produce growers, resort communities and other sectors that traditionally have depended on such labor. Ending some trade pacts and renegotiating others — again, no matter how positively that move might be viewed — will require adjustments in supply chains and markets. The possibility of dramatically revising health-care funding worries providers, including small, rural hospitals, and the communities that depend on them.
This early in his administration and in his relationship with Congress, the president has said little about how he intends to implement these changes and mitigate potential problems. It’s not fair to assume that he intends to decimate big chunks of the economy. Just mentioning such actions, though, creates fear.
We hope that the president will work with Congress in seeking to minimize economic disruption. That includes not taking action without understanding the complex consequences that will ripple through industries, support and supply sectors, and communities where those industries provide significant employment.
A federal effort to criminalize personal marijuana use doesn’t make a great deal of sense, especially when the federal government has large drug problems, like opioid use, that it must address. It’s hardly logical to assume that marijuana use will diminish greatly because of a change in law, especially without a corresponding large increase in enforcement personnel.
Recreational pot certainly doesn’t seem like the most important problem facing the nation. Let’s hope the president tackles the bigger ones first.
