By: Nabil Rodriguez*
On Friday December 7, 2018, President Trump announced that he intends to nominate William Barr as Attorney General. Barr is a former Attorney General under the late President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993 and was known for having a tough approach toward drug offenders. However, unlike his predecessor Jeff Sessions, Barr has not publicly taken a position on the legalization of cannabis. Even though he is a former Attorney General, Barr must still be confirmed by the Senate, a process that can take months.
As Rachel Gillette – Greenspoon Marder partner and Cannabis Law Practice chair – relayed to Marijuana Business Daily in an article published today, she is taking a “wait and see” approach because “it doesn’t appear that [Barr has] made any recent comments about marijuana. We might learn something more during his Senate confirmation process.” Gillette additionally noted that Barr, if confirmed, “obviously will have some major issues that he’ll be dealing with that are unrelated to cannabis. Let’s hope that he’s somebody who has a willingness to learn and grow and change given what’s happened with the public sentiment to cannabis over the last 10 years.”
*Nabil Rodriguez is not an attorney