This is WeedWeek, because cannabis news is everywhere. 

Like  it on Facebook ,  follow it on Instagram  and Twitter and share it with the link  weedweek.net . Subscribers’ names and contact info are confidential.  You can also list  your conferences, festivals and parties for free on the site. 

WeedWeek will soon have a site for readers who hope to be politically active during the Trump era. In the meantime, check out

-" Pod Save America," a smart new podcast featuring former aides to President Obama

 

- Countable, an app designed to make it easier to communicate with elected officials.

-And here's a resource page for next Saturday's Women's March on Washington and sister marches around the country.

Here's the news:

Politics
During his confirmation hearings for U.S. attorney general, prohibitionist Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions (R) said nothing to reassure the cannabis industry. “The U.S. Congress made the possession of marijuana in every state — and the distribution — an illegal act. If that’s something that’s not desired any longer, Congress should pass a law to change the rule,” Sessions said.  

In his opening statement he did not mention marijuana but said the in addition to an uptick in violent crime: “The country is also in the throes of a heroin epidemic, with overdose deaths more than tripling between 2010 and 2014. Meanwhile, illegal drugs flood across our southern border and into every city and town in the country, bringing violence, addiction, and misery.”  

In addition, Sessions expressed no support for the principle of state’s rights on marijuana, or legalization’s widespread popularity saying "I won't commit to never enforcing federal law." Instead he considers marijuana enforcement "a problem of resources for the federal government."  

The industry’s largest lobby, the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) chose not to oppose the Sessions nomination and undoubtedly hoped he would grant the industry some legitimacy during the hearing. Instead, libertarian outfit Reason called his answers “unclear” and “useless.” The LATimes said he left the door open to “ reviving federal war on pot.”  

In an effort at reassurance, legalization supporters pointed out that current U.S. attorney general Loretta Lynch, was not especially supportive of legalization during her 2015 confirmation hearing.  

Longtime Maine cannabis entrepreneur Becky DeKeuster, said that under Trump/Sessions raids could become more common.

The vote on whether to approve Sessions won’t come until after the inauguration, which is on Friday.

In other confirmation news, Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson, the former CEO and chairman of ExxonMobil, declined to condemn President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs in the Philippines.

Canada may miss its initial goal of legalizing REC this spring.

Capitol Weekly (Sacramento), reports on California’s “ new marijuana era.”  

A committee in Denver will work to implement the city’s new social use rule. The city may also extend permitted dispensary hours past 7 p.m.

Licensed growers in Maryland have no legal way to obtain seeds, it’s “ the immaculate conception problem.” Rhode Island awarded its first MED grow licenses.

Oregon lawmakers could overhaul the state’s regulatory framework.

D.C. Councilman David Grosso wants the city, which vote to legalize REC in 2014, to have an industry.  

Missouri could vote on MED and/or REC in 2018.  

The U.S. Air Force is relaxing its standards for prior marijuana use. Use by active-duty airmen remains forbidden.