From Trumpy typos to expunged convictions, here are this week’s most notable cannabis quotables.
“Democracy dies in dankness”
—Donald Trump Jr., attempting to reference the Washington Post’s slogan (“Democracy dies in darkness”) on Twitter
“This example, one of many across our state, underscores the true promise of Proposition 64–providing new hope and opportunities to Californians, primarily people of color, whose lives were long ago derailed by a costly, broken and racially discriminatory system of marijuana criminalization.”
—California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, reflecting on the San Francisco District Attorney’s office’s announcement that it will review, dismiss, and seal an estimated 3,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions dating back to 1975
“The stigma associated with a marijuana arrest and criminal conviction is lifelong, and can directly lead to numerous lost opportunities later in life. The San Francisco District Attorney’s office is to be commended for proactively rectifying this situation—one that has disproportionately burdened far too many young people and people of color. Let’s hope other jurisdictions follow San Francisco’s lead in righting the wrongs of cannabis criminalization.”
—NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano, echoing Lt. Gov. Newsom’s appreciation of San Francisco’s marijuana-misdemeanor purge
“In the cannabis industry, we have more female-owned businesses than any other sector of the American economy.”
—Jane West, co-founder of Women Grow, speaking at this week’s Leadership Summit in Denver
“If it’s a business just following our rules and they’re a business minding their own business selling marijuana, yes, that would get our attention for sure…My job is to defend state law, including initiatives.”
—Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, confirming his willingness to sue the Trump administration over enforcement of federal marijuana policies, in an interview with The Colombian
“People would stop trying to get in the industry if they actually knew what was going on here. If you think there’s money in growing cannabis, put on a seatbelt and sit back for a 5-10-year ride, because it is not easy.”
—Aviv Hadar, co-owner of Oregon cannabis company Oregrown, responding to Oregon’s market-flooding, price-plunging cannabis surplus
“If you tested positive for marijuana, you couldn’t join our company. At a certain point, we said, ‘You know what? That’s wrong.'”
—#AutoNationCEO Mike Jackson to Automotive News, about his company’s reversal of its anti-cannabis hiring policy
“Details of the crash are still a little hazy.”
—Lacey, Washington’s Fire District 3, addressing the car that crashed into an area cannabis store, on Twitter
