Braude: Were you are more precise because the attorney general is softening or because you were sick of being asked the same question and you wanted to give people as much notice as you felt they deserved?

Lelling: It’s more the latter. It wasn’t because of any signal out of D.C. about the Attorney General softening on this. The reason why I did it is that the July 1 deadline – the July 1 date – for the Cannabis Control Commission beginning to issue licenses to recreational dispensaries. That date had passed. And so it seemed like it was in the public interest to try and give a little bit clarity instead of being coy. I mean look you know as I’ve said a bunch of times you know 2000 people last year in Massachusetts didn’t die from smoking a joint right they died from opioids. All my resources are targeting opioids. So why make it harder than it needs to be.

Braude: Well if that’s the case one of the things the chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, Hoffman, who been here a couple times said he’s concerned because no banks are buying in. So, you sell 20,000 dollars of marijuana in small amounts you’ve got to carry cash to either under your mattress or what. I don’t even know what they do with it. Can you make the same assurance to bankers that if you collect money from a retail outlet that is selling small amounts to quote you that I’m not going to be prosecuting you either?

Lelling: I can’t. The reason why I can’t is that banks are heavily regulated probably by two or three different regulators. Besides anything I might do on the criminal side so I’m not going to go there. I mean you have you have Treasury you have the FDIC. Think of the Office of the Comptroller. There might be others. That’s not necessarily my area of expertise. So, I’ve shied away from that because it’s so regulated that the regulators I think need to speak to that first.