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Massachusetts federal prosecutor says opioids top pot as priority
Source: Reuters
#HEALTH NEWS JANUARY 24, 2018 / 1:13 PM / UPDATED 12 MINUTES AGO
Massachusetts federal prosecutor says opioids top pot as priority
Nate Raymond
3 MIN READ
BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts’ new federal prosecutor on Wednesday said that he will not rule out prosecuting marijuana businesses in a state that has legalized the drug, but that his focus was on the opioid epidemic.
“The No. 1 enforcement priority for my office is the opioid crisis,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling. “As I was pointing out to someone the other day, 2,100 people in Massachusetts were killed by opioid overdoses last year, not marijuana overdoses.”
Lelling sought to clarify his stance on marijuana prosecutions in the first press conference in his new role after the administration of Republican U.S. President Donald Trump in January rescinded an Obama-era policy easing enforcement in states that legalized the drug.
Massachusetts is among nine states that have legalized recreational marijuana use, which remains illegal under federal law. State voters in 2016 backed an initiative legalizing its recreational use and retail sales could begin later this year.
-snip-
Massachusetts federal prosecutor says opioids top pot as priority
Nate Raymond
3 MIN READ
BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts’ new federal prosecutor on Wednesday said that he will not rule out prosecuting marijuana businesses in a state that has legalized the drug, but that his focus was on the opioid epidemic.
“The No. 1 enforcement priority for my office is the opioid crisis,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling. “As I was pointing out to someone the other day, 2,100 people in Massachusetts were killed by opioid overdoses last year, not marijuana overdoses.”
Lelling sought to clarify his stance on marijuana prosecutions in the first press conference in his new role after the administration of Republican U.S. President Donald Trump in January rescinded an Obama-era policy easing enforcement in states that legalized the drug.
Massachusetts is among nine states that have legalized recreational marijuana use, which remains illegal under federal law. State voters in 2016 backed an initiative legalizing its recreational use and retail sales could begin later this year.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-massachusetts-marijuana/massachusetts-federal-prosecutor-says-opioids-top-pot-as-priority-idUSKBN1FD2M4