Berkeley Becomes First Pot Sanctuary City In US

BERKELEY, CA —The City of Berkeley, CA has become the first sanctuary city in the nation for pot.

Mayor Jesse Arreguin announced the policy change on Wednesday, granting sanctuary to adult marijuana users, businesses selling the product, and property owners where dispensaries and other cannabis-related business are located.

In practice, this means that no city funds can be used to enforce federal marijuana laws. The change was prompted by the federal government’s decision to rescind Obama-era guidelines that prioritized enforcement to those involved in selling pot to minors, or when marijuana was used as a cover for trafficking other illegal drugs, or or to cover other illegal activity.

“Millions of peaceful Americans have been fined, arrested, imprisoned, or otherwise needlessly criminalized and stigmatized, sometimes for life, because of their use of marijuana,” said Arreguin. “This War on Drugs has cost over $1 trillion dollars and turned the U.S. into a nation of mass incarceration — imprisoning 2 million American citizens. Worse, the enforcement of marijuana and other drug laws has had a disproportionate impact on people of color. Ending this misguided policy is long overdue.”

The initiative-approved legalization of recreational marijuana in California, which went into effect Jan. 1, is expected to generate $1 billion in annual tax revenue statewide, including $3 million in Berkeley.

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