"The Cole Memo was not a federal law and did not alter the DOJ's authority or discretion to enforce federal drug laws, which discretion continued after the Cole Memo was adopted in 2013. Accordingly, iAnthus' management believes the rescinding of the Cole Memo does not indicate any specific change in DOJ enforcement policy. There is no new policy that directs or demands the U.S. Attorneys to prosecute individuals in states where marijuana programs are legal. U.S. Attorneys will continue to have the same wide prosecutorial discretion that they had prior to today.
The regulated marijuana industry has created tens of thousands of American jobs and provided hundreds of millions of dollars in needed tax revenue to state and local governments, while at the same time serving to disintermediate the black market that has existed since the beginning of the federal marijuana prohibition. Turning the clock back twenty years and re-opening the door to criminal cartels is counterproductive and serves no practical purpose. In addition, the federal government has traditionally relied upon state and local law enforcement in the area of marijuana enforcement, given the federal government's limited resources and prioritization of serious harmful drug offenses that do not involve marijuana. In states where the voters have adopted regulated medical and/or adult use marijuana programs, there is little reason to believe that state and local prosecutors and law enforcement will prioritize assisting in the enforcement of federal law pertaining to state licensed marijuana operations.
For all of these reasons, we would expect that today's action will have little or no material impact on federal prosecution priorities in states that have adopted regulated medical and/or adult use marijuana programs. We believe that regulated businesses that scrupulously comply with applicable state laws and regulations need not be alarmed by today's events, and we intend to continue to make it our highest priority to instill a culture of strict compliance at each of our regulated cannabis operations throughout the United States.
It is worth noting that the President has clearly indicated in the past his support for medical marijuana and the rights of the states to decide their own policies in the area of marijuana legalization, just as the states have the power to regulate -- and tax -- the alcohol and tobacco industries.
It is also worth noting the overwhelming support among the American people for regulated marijuana and the rights of the states to decide for themselves what their marijuana laws should be. Recent polling data shows that 94% of the American electorate supports medical marijuana, and 64% support adult use laws, including a majority Republicans. Additionally, 76% of American voters, including 72% of Republicans, believe the federal government should not interfere with the rights of states to determine their own marijuana laws, according to survey data published by Gallup in October 2017.
