Two stories about marijuana laws - one national, the other from Iowa - illustrate the confusion that reigns about marijuana in this nation.
It's a confusion that's borne of a nation that is debating the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes. While different people have different views - and those views are reflected by the people in authority - there's huge uncertainty.
CNN reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is about to rescind Obama-era rules that allowed states to decide what to do about marijuana. The result: well, we don't know.
The memo will be rescinded but it's not immediately clear whether Sessions will issue new guidance in its place or simply revert back to older policies that left states with legal uncertainty about enforcement of federal law.
You heard about the confusion in California on my show. California has legalized recreational marijuana, but it is still illegal on the FEDERAL level. If you decide to take a plan from Los Angeles to San Francisco, you could be detained by the federal TSA if you are in possession of weed.
Meanwhile, in Iowa, the Des Moines Register reports that some stores are selling cannibis oil, despite legal questions.
...the Iowa Board of Pharmacy advised pharmacists last May to refrain from selling CBD products, such as oils or creams, even if the products are described as low-THC. The board said in its advisory that it considers CBD products “Schedule I” materials, which “cannot be purchased, sold or transferred in or into the state of Iowa.”
Iowa's new medical marijuana law will allow oils to be sold that contain 10-times the THC level that some stores are selling currently. That low level doesn't prevent the Board Of Pharmacy from stating that the oil is marijuana and, therefore, illegal.
But the Register reports that some oils have been seized but no charges have been filed against store owners.
So will this confusion ultimately resolve when Congress legalizes weed across the nation?