美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Signals Possible Support For Bipartisan Marijuana Legislation

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

President Trump¹ said today that he is likely to support a bipartisan bill that would change federal law to make it easier for states to legalize marijuana. That's in contrast to the position of his attorney general Jeff Sessions at the Justice Department. Sessions and Trump have a rocky relationship largely because of the Russia investigation².

NPR's Sarah McCammon covers the White House and joins us now. Hi, Sarah.

SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE³: Hi, Ari.

SHAPIRO: What is in this bill that the president was talking about, and what exactly did the president say?

MCCAMMON: So it's a proposal by Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Those are both states that have approved the legalization of recreational marijuana. And the bill would give states more latitude⁴ to write their own laws when it comes to the production, distribution and possession of marijuana.

And as a reminder⁵, under federal law right now marijuana is a Schedule I substance. That's the same category as heroin⁶, as LSD. And it's defined as having a high potential for abuse and also having no accepted medical use, which obviously differs from laws in many states. And for many businesses related to marijuana that have sprung up in those states where it's legal, that's a real potential problem, something that senators like Cory Gardner are concerned about. Trump was asked about that bill today as he left the White House for the G-7 summit.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I really do. I support Senator Gardner. I know exactly what he's doing. We're looking at it. But I probably will end up supporting that, yes.

MCCAMMON: And it's worth noting that during the 2016 campaign Trump said he was in favor of states' rights when it comes to marijuana laws. And Gardner had said earlier this year that Trump promised to back this idea of giving states more latitude. Now the president's saying that he likely will.

SHAPIRO: But as we said, the chief federal law enforcement officer, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, opposes legalizing marijuana. What has he been saying about this bill?

MCCAMMON: Yes. Sessions has been the most outspoken⁷ member of the administration on marijuana. In his Senate confirmation⁸ hearings he called it very dangerous, said good people don't smoke marijuana. In January, he reversed an Obama administration policy that had eased up on federal marijuana enforcement in states with more permissive laws. And today on Colorado Public Radio, Sessions said he'll be watching what happens in Congress and noted⁹ that while the federal government generally hasn't made marijuana enforcement a big priority compared to more dangerous drugs, he says it's still illegal.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JEFF SESSIONS: My view is clear that the federal law remains¹⁰ in effect nationwide just like it does for heroin or cocaine¹¹, and that course it's not the death-dealing drug in the same way that fentanyl or heroin is. But it remains on the books as a prohibited substance.

MCCAMMON: And Sessions says so far the president hasn't directed him to do anything other than enforce federal law.

SHAPIRO: But this is hardly the first time the president and his attorney general have disagreed on something.

MCCAMMON: Right. Trump has publicly criticized Sessions multiple times in recent months, largely because of Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election. That decision has angered President Trump. He tweeted recently calling the Russian witch hunt hoax¹² - he called it a hoax and a witch hunt and said that it continues all because Jeff Sessions didn't tell me he was going to recuse himself, said he would have picked someone else if he'd known.

SHAPIRO: NPR's Sarah McCammon, thanks for coming into the studio today.

MCCAMMON: Thank you.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

5 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

6 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

7 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

8 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

12 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。