Cannabis adversary urges feds to shut down MJ industry

A prominent anti-marijuana group is urging the U.S. government to shutter the legal cannabis industry.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana sent a report to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and federal lawmakers claiming to show how the first three states to legalize recreational marijuana have failed to follow rules outlined in the Cole Memo and calling for the industry to be “systematically shut down” – beginning with its biggest players.

The Smart Approaches report – “The Cole Memo: 4 Years Later” – alleges that Colorado, Washington and Oregon have failed to comply with seven of the eight guidelines in the industry safeguard, such as preventing cannabis from reaching minors or crossing into other states, according to The Cannabist.

The Cole Memo is a nonbinding set of DOJ policies that were written during the Obama administration and have guided many state-level marijuana regulations, especially in the recreational cannabis sector.

The SAM report also recommends that “limited federal resources should be used to target the big players in the marijuana industry who are circumventing (DOJ) guidance and state regulations,” The Cannabist reported.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana President Kevin Sabet told the news outlet that “we do not want individuals prosecuted – we want the industry to be accountable. This industry – starting from the top – should be systematically shut down.”