Nevada’s top prosecutor won’t promise hands-off treatment of cannabis industry

Nevada’s top federal prosecutor is making things a little more uncertain for the fast-growing cannabis industry in the state, saying that he isn’t ruling out the possibility of prosecuting marijuana businesses – but it’s not at the top of his list.

U.S. Attorney Nicholas Trutanich told the Reno Gazette Journal he believes drug use and crime “go hand-in-hand” and that “marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and my job is to enforce federal law.”

However, U.S. Attorney General William Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee in January that although he believes marijuana should be outlawed, the U.S. Department of Justice would not go after marijuana companies in states where cannabis is legal.

The possibility of federal law enforcers taking action on cannabis cases in Nevada has been a question since both medical and recreational marijuana became legal in the state.

The Trump administration hasn’t taken an official stance on states’ legalization of recreational marijuana.

But former Attorney General Jeff Sessions last year rescinded Obama administration guidance that kept federal authorities from cracking down on the cannabis industry in states where marijuana use is legal.

Trutanich took over as U.S. attorney in Nevada in January. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles for six years and handled national security cases in Iraq in 2010 and 2011.

– Associated Press and Marijuana Business Daily