Federal prosecutors will go after the illicit marijuana market as well as organized crime in Oregon according to an announcement on Friday.
The new guidelines for cannabis enforcement in Oregon were made public on Friday with the feds wanting to target operations that “pose a substantial risk of violence.”
It was earlier this year that Jeff Sessions, the U.S. Attorney General, decided to do away with a policy that largely tolerated marijuana in states where it is legal.
U.S. attorney for Oregon, Billy Williams, issued the guidelines in response to Sessions’ decision.
Though Williams has said he won’t go after legal marijuana businesses, he “will not make broad proclamations of blanket immunity from prosecution to those who violate federal law.”
“I am not going to advise clients to shutter their businesses and I frankly don’t think this will change anyone’s view on investment,” remarked Dave Kopilak, a Portland lawyer who advises cannabis businesses. “I don’t think this will have a chilling effect on the investment side of things.
“It could have been worse. It could have been better, but this is definitely down the middle of the road and a continuation of what we have done for years,” Kopilak added.
