Everett pot shop reacts to Sessions' decision

EVERETT, Wash. — Will Washington state's Marijuana industry go up in smoke, and how do buyers and sellers feel about the potential for pot to go away thanks to a new federal mandate?

KIRO 7 talked to people on both sides of the sales counter in Everett where a string of marijuana shops line Wa-99 South of downtown Everett. Neither customers nor sales reps seemed angry at President Donald Trump or Attorney General Jeff Sessions for reversing an Obama-era directive on enforcing federal bans on marijuana.

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More on this topic

• US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end policy that let legal pot flourish
• Gov. Inslee: No change to state marijuana operations
• What is the Cole memo and what does it have to do with legal pot?
• Local leaders respond to decision to roll back federal pot policy

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They're angry that Washington state's "legal" stores could go away, especially since they see the stores as safe and regulated.

They're also concerned that if Sessions orders authorities to crack down on shops it could send people back underground. That includes customer Olivia Jackson, who was buying some marijuana at 'he Bud Hut in Everett.

 "I would probably just go back to the way things were before," Jackson said, laughing at the idea of having to go back on the street to buy marijuana. She admitted she likes The Bud Hut because it's easy to find what she needs --  it's labeled, it's regulated, and it's definitely not a back alley or a street corner. 

"There's a lot of people that feel that it's a drug no matter what it's tough for me to see their point of view because I see it as medicine, it's tough for me to agree," Jackson said.

Sales reps at the Bud Hut say it does brisk business, especially Fridays and Saturdays. They say tax money goes to Washington state, and big money and big business happen in Everett. Sales clerk Chris "McDabbs" McKee wonders why take money out of the economy.

"How are we going to have customers, how are we going to pay our bills how are we going to pay the people who have other businesses that provide us with product?" McKee said.

Washington voters legalized marijuana, despite federal law saying it's illegal.

The Obama administration said it wouldn't enforce the law, but today, Sessions said the Trump administration would. 

Sessions says enforcement will be left up to each individual U.S. attorney.

So what does that mean?

The U.S. attorney for Western Washington -- an Obama appointee -- says her office's enforcement will "focus on those who pose the greatest safety risk to the people and communities we serve."

The U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington -- a Trump pick -- has yet to say anything about enforcement.

Washington has seen raids on marijuana shops since 2008 when the push for marketing marijuana evolved. Some, like David Passafiume – who works at Bud Hut and has shopped for marijuana for years-- aren't too worried about the return of heavy-handed tactics. 

"I think there might be a little bit of  a run but we're not too terribly concerned," Passafiume said.

Some Washington leaders say they're determined to fight back. Governor Jay Inslee, for example, says "An uproar of resistance against the Trump administration can work because we have seen it work on multiple occasions."

Customers in Everett and elsewhere in Washington seemed ready to keep buying -- and didn't appear to feel at risk even with the federal memo.

Cox Media Group