Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi: Respect State Marijuana Laws – Tax and Regulate
In an interview released yesterday on the Denver Post, Nancy Pelosi gave her first direct response regarding what she feels should happen to states that legalize, or have legalized recreational cannabis.
According to Pelosi, “I think that has to be respected”. She goes on to say something even more telling of her position, “I think tax and regulate.”
She continues:
“In order to do that, there has to be a level of respect for the fact, that if you are going to have recreational marijuana, someone is in business to do that and they have to have tax treatment in order for them to function as a business. How the state of Colorado interacts with the federal government on the taxation issues is something they have to work out, but I think they should.”
As the House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi is one of the most politically powerful Democrats in the nation, so her support for respecting state laws is appreciated, and influential. We can only hope other Democratic leaders (we’re looking right at you Harry Reid), will take a similar approach moving forward.
– TheJointBlog