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Pot business wary but optimistic The Oregon Marijuana Business Conference is held at the Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites on Saturday. Daily Tidings / Jamie Lusch Tuesday Nov 22, 2016 at 2:00 AM By Julie Akins For the Tidings While leaders in the cannabis industry sought out help in understanding Oregon’s twists and turns in policy about legal and medical marijuana at the annual Oregon Marijuana Business Conference in Ashland on Saturday, a concern hung in the air about President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions as candidate for attorney general.  Trump on Friday said he intends to nominate Sessions, a former federal prosecutor, as the next U.S. Attorney General.  Sessions, who would be the top enforcer of law in the country, has been quoted as saying “good people don’t smoke marijuana,” during an April Senate hearing.  “We need grownups in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized, it ought not to be minimized, that it is in fact a very real danger,” Sessions continued. “To make it socially acceptable creates increased demand and results in people being addicted and being impacted adversely.”  In the 1980s, Sessions allegedly said he thought KKK members were OK — until he learned they smoked marijuana. Sessions subsequently called that a joke.  At the Ashland conference, Meredith Overstreet from Grasshopper’s Oil Extractor said it’s a difficult time in the industry with this possibility. “It’s a weird time and not for the faint of heart,” she said. Ultimately, however, she does not believe the president nor his attorney general can roll back legalization in Oregon or any of the states that have ratified it. “We’re in too deep down. They money it would take to shut it down, I don’t think this administration will be about that.”  “I think there’s not a person in this industry who is not concerned.” said Sandy Diesel of the advocacy group Right to Grow. “I think we need to embrace him (Sessions) and educate. But, I don’t think he can stop the movement, it’s worldwide now.”  Marijuana is now legal in some form in 26 states and the District of Columbia. On Nov. 8, 2016, voters in nine states decided whether or not to legalize marijuana. Five of those states — Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada — voted on ballot initiatives to legalize weed for recreational purposes. Voters in Arkansas, Florida and North Dakota decided whether to legalize medical cannabis. Montana voted on expanding medical marijuana rights. As the election results rolled in, Florida was the first to officially announce it had legalized medical marijuana. North Dakota and Arkansas followed.  “We took what we were spending on criminalizing marijuana and are making more than that in revenue now. Sessions serves at the will of the president and we’re not concerned. Making this a legal industry is bringing in significant tax revenue,” said Anne van Leynseele of Northwest Marijuana Law, which represents the business from Seattle through California.  Regulators at the Oregon Liquor Control Commission told industry professionals they follow the last policy memo they received, saying federal authorities will not be involved in regulating marijuana within the states. They say that will continue until otherwise notified.  The state of Oregon has taken in $25.5 million dollars in taxes so far this past year. The Oregon Marijuana Business conference ended Saturday evening. Some 650 people attended from throughout the state and several exhibitors were on hand to discuss professional services. This was the third annual conference in Ashland. Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/@julieakins.