Colorado gov on “Meet the Press”: It’s unclear whether Trump administration could stop legal marijuana
A guest on NBCs Meet the Press Sunday, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper downplayed the possibility that the Trump administration would take aim at Colorados recreational marijuana industry, saying legalizations inclusion in the state Constitution makes it unclear whether the federal government could shut it down.
Our voters passed it 55-45. Its in our constitution, Hickenlooper told Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd on Sunday.
You dont think its clear that the federal government could stop you? Todd asked.
Exactly, Hickenlooper replied.
Prior to his confirmation as Attorney General, Jeff Sessions suggested to U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner that enforcement of federal marijuana law in states that have approved recreational pot would not be a priority, Hickenlooper said.
It wasnt worth rising to the top and becoming a priority, Sessions told Gardner, according to Hickenlooper.
Hickenlooper opposed legalizing recreational pot prior to voters approval of Amendment 64 in 2012.
Todd asked him if he would support the amendment if it was on the ballot today.
Well, Im getting close. I mean, I dont think Im quite there yet, but we have made a lot progress, he said.
There has been no spike in use by teenagers, and were getting anecdotal reports of less drug dealers maybe this system is better than what was admittedly a pretty bad system to begin with.
Todd introduced Hickenlooper, former Denver mayor who won governmental terms in 2010 and 2014, saying his is a frequently whispered name in the early stages of the Democratic presidential sweepstakes for 2020.
Democrats seem to be uniting around a plan to oppose anything President Donald Trump wants passed, Todd said, asking if Hickenlooper thought that the attitude would bite the party at some time.
Hickenlooper said he didnt know the answer to that, but noted that Republicans took every opportunity to block any legislative victories by Barack Obama. You cant blame anybody for being that upset. And also, theres been a lot of problems in the first month of this administration.
Full transcript, courtesy of NBC News Meet the Press with Chuck Todd:
CHUCK TODD:
Welcome back. Despite the election of Tom Perez as DNC chairman yesterday, Democrats are on the outside looking in at nearly all levels of government. The partys bench is weak after the electoral shellacking it took during the Obama years. But one possible bright spot for Democrats is John Hickenlooper of Colorado. Hes the former mayor of Denver and current governor who won both of his gubernatorial terms in 2010 and 2014, two of the worst years for Democrats nationally in their history. His state is increasingly blue in a region of the country that has been a surprise growth area for Democrats over the last decade. Hes also a frequently whispered name in the early early stages of the Democratic presidential sweepstakes for 2020. Im sure he loves me saying that. Gov. Hickenlooper, welcome to Meet the Press.
GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER:
Great to be here.
CHUCK TODD:
Let me start with the question that I ended the Tom Perez interview with, which is this idea
the Democrats look like theyre uniting around this idea of just being the party of no and the party of anti-Trump. That doesnt seem to be your comfort zone. Is it moving too fast in that direction in your opinion?
GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER:
Well, Im not sure its moving that fast in that direction. Certainly, theres a lot of, you know, anxiety and anger and protest going on. But you look at someone like Tom Perez, who is, I mean, hes lived through bias and prejudice, hes experience it first hand, he spent years, you know, fighting for social justice and civil rights. And he also, as secretary of labor, did more to think about how do we reeducate people for the next generation of jobs than just about anybody. I mean, hes a constructive person. Now, obviously hes got lots to criticize, and thats part of his job. But he brings a big, broad background to the job.
CHUCK TODD:
I hear you. But you had Hillary Clinton saying, Resistance. Using that actual word, which for a Clinton, any Clinton, that just seemed like a shock to the system. But you heard Chuck Schumer say, Dump Trump. Hes the Senate Democratic leader. A week after the election, he was even saying, Well, on some things, if we agree with him, well work with a President Trump. That seems to be gone. And is that going to bite the Democrats at some point?
GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER:
Well, I dont know. I think some of them, the people like Senator Schumer, has got to be thinking back to when President Obama was first elected, and within a couple of weeks, that same kind of anger was being used against him, and theyd do anything to beat him, theyre going to, you know, take every single possible opportunity to try and embarrass him and make sure hes defeated during his reelection. I think theres, you cant blame them you cant blame anybody for being that upset. And also, theres been a lot of problems in the first month of this administration.
CHUCK TODD:
Lets talk about your political victories at times in other states that the Democrats havent. Youre a guy thats defended fracking, youre a guy thats been a proponent of charter schools. Is that one of the explanations, why you as a Democrat have been able to win in years that Democrats havent? Is it things like that, challenging preconceived notions?
GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER:
I dont know, part of its Ive been blessed to have a lot of really smart, hard-working people, many of that young people, who work their fingers to the bone on these campaigns. Its a tough job. I think part of it is I came from a small business, and I think I understand jobs, I really understand what its like to I got laid off, I was out of work for a couple years, and then we built a company that hired a lot of people.
And being able to talk about jobs over the last ten or 15 years, when so many people feel theyre not being heard, and really trying to listen, right? And when Im campaigning, I go out and I dont tell people so much what I think as I try to hear what theyre feeling.
CHUCK TODD:
But I guess, Governor, I mean, its interesting to hear you talk about being an entrepreneur, owning a small business, again, fracking, charter schools. There are some Republicans in blue states that talk about those issues too. I mean, my point is is that, are you sending a subtle message to the Democratic party, Hey, youve marginalized yourselves a little bit?
GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER:
No, I would never. No. And I think there are lots of places, I mean, Colorado was the first state where we actually found a way, we brought all the oil and gas industry, together with the environmental community, and we found a way the regulate methane, fugitive emissions.
And we really ...
