Gestures towards dealing with these chemical weapons. President obama did call the russian suggestion a break through. Hes not confident congress would authorize a diplomatic strike if no solution is found. Bashar alassad in an interview warned if reprisal attacks if his country is the target of a strike. Those are the headlines. America tonight is next. On america tonight the diplomatic brink or was it 00 blink . Did the chief u. S. Diplomat slip up . Sometimes you have to shake hands with the devil. Also, tonight, a new high. How legalized pot is helping entrepreneurs grow their own businesses. I wouldnt have guessed that the food i put on my stability is ultimate reply funded by million marijuana. And an insiders view of a closed society, replyin polygam. And the terror that keeps many women from escaping. Good evening and welcome to america tonight. Im joie chen. For the first time in three weeks, since those horrifying pictures emerged, the men, women and children struck down by what was quite apparently a chemical gas attack, for the first time today there are strong signals that the white house is ready to back off of its repeated threats to punish syria with a ship strike. It took us from london to moscow to damascus, the Obama Administration has set its firmest line yet, if the Syrian Regime would give up its supply of chemical weapons. If Bashar Alassad lets loose of his chemical supply are we on pause . Absolutely. I consider this a modestly positive development. You know john kerry is going to talk to his counterparts, and were going to run this to ground. I dont think that we would have godden to this point unless we had maintained a credible possibility of a military strike and i dont think nows the time for us to let up on that. But my objective here has always been to deal with a very specific problem. So what ive said specifically is, i want to make sure that that norm against use of chemical weapons is maintained. Thats in our National Security interest. If we can do that without a military strike that is overwhelmingly my preference and now the key is can we see with a sense of urgency language and a man that is enforceable and favorable that accomplishes that. Sheila macvicar has led our coverage. So tonight sheila tell us what led to what appears to be a break through . The president used the word potential break through as if its in a potential. This takes place months years, glacial pace, behind closed doors. What happened today is nothing short of headspinning and all in front of a camera. After weeks of looking like contentious strikes of u. S. Against syria was the only are potential, now potentially theres another game in town. Sure he could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons in the International Community in the next week, turn it over, all of it. Without delay. And allow the full and total accounting for that. But he isnt about to do it. And cant be done. Obviously. The state Department Later said secretary kerry was merely taking a rhetorical point. Not a serious proposition. But by then, his words had been seized on in moscow. We dont know if syria greezs to it but if putting chemical weapons in this country under International Control averts the military strikes then we will melimmediately get to work on ts with damascus. The foreign minister was on the phone. During our talks with minister lavrov this morning, i determined that syria welcomes the proposal, the security of our country and because it believes in the wisdom of the russian leadership. At the same time, at the headquarters of the u. N. Secretary general ban dmoo kimn was already proposing. That is the proper thing for syria to do, im sure that the International Community will have a very swift action. To make sure that these stocks, chemical weapons stocks, will be stored safely. And will be destroyed. The first reaction in washington came from hillary clinton, fresh from a meeting with president obama. She called the situation fluid. If the regime immediately surrendered its stock piles to International Control, as was suggested by secretary kerry, and the russians, that would be an important step. Saying the u. S. Would take a hard look add the russian proposal, obamas deputy National Security advisor said we would welcome assad giving up his chemical weapons, doing it in a verifiable manner so we can account for them and destroy them. Unfortunately the track record to daylight including recent statements by assad not even acknowledging he has chemical weapons doesnt give you a lot of confidence. And congress all lawmakers found the game had changed when they merged from the meeting. I dont want to get ahead of the administration or in any way theyre going to evaluate that. And this is something very new. See how real it is. See whether or not this could just be a delaying tactic. And also how much a role we want to give russia as far as having an influence over what goes on in the middle east and what our relationship is with syria and iran. A dizzying 11 hours joie. The president did say he met one on one with vladimir putin. That was a short 20 minute meeting on the sidelines of the g20. So it is clear this idea was being discussed over some period of time. But even when all this was going on sheila, you were on capitol hill yourself, and do you have the sense the press continues . Full on press seven Television Interviews speech to the nation tomorrow night. But it gives you an idea how enthusiastic or unenthusiastic those on the hill are when theyre looking at an initiative from russia as maybe being the best possible way. Another big event today, the Senate Majorities leader, harry reid postponed a vote we expected on this issue on wednesday, not clear parliamentary reason, they dont have the votes or have the votes, in the house there is no evidence that the nos are winning the day with the leaning no at 238, undecided 169 and yes votes stalled at 26. And thats almost no growth at all as we have been watching this over the day. Sheila in addition to hearing from president obama we also heard from the other president important here, Bashar Alassad. Bashar alassad gave an interview to charlie rose. Its clear theyre not the only one taking a look at American Public opinion. Assad specifically referenced the polls here showing six in ten of americans are not in favor of these strikes. Talked about how these u. S. Strikes would support what he called al qaeda. And also, knowing that the fear of retaliation and what happens the day after strikes, are playing large in the minds of lawmakers here. He talked about that retaliation. He talked about what his plans were and when asked if there would be retaliation, he simply applied, you can expect anything. Sheila you know even as all this apparent shift might be taking place, we are looking closely to that, the white house has kept up its campaign to win over the American Public also, capitol hill. Joining us is steve horseford from nevada. He is one of the people president obama would like to win over. Have you come to a decision yet . I havent. Im one of the undecided members. Im listening to my constituents first and foremost, attending every briefing. I think ive gone to ten including one today . Including one today, including the white house, we had with the National Security advisor susan rice. And president obama took questions from the congressional black caucus. This is an important decision to the American Interest im a new member and i take my decision very seriously. What are they going to give you for information now . What will win over your decision at this point, what have you not heard . My focus has been on three areas, is first is there not a coalition much partners . Why is american acting without partners . What is the cost . I have an air force base in my district where thousands of people have been laid off. Many who are taking furlough days and cuts in their pay, and this is money that is going to be diverted from other parts of the department of defense budget. And the third concern and probably the most important one is what are the objectives after the strike . Obviously, the underlying issue here is the civil war in syria. That is not going to be addressed from a strike alone. And we want to hear from the president , what the Long Term Strategy is in syria. And in the region as a whole. You were at the white house today when this whole thing with russia was developing. Did they talk to you about this russia proposal, what kind of credibility they give it the chance of actually Going Forward and turning into something thats viable . Yes, the National Security advisor susan rice whos dealt with our nations interest and negotiating with others in the world around these issues, you know, expressed some amount of optimism that this is something that could be evaluated. But cautioned that if it doesnt work out, that we still need to have a clear determination from the congress on this authorization to strike, which the president has asked for. Im sure youve heard a lot from your earnings sw on this and reached out to them your constituents and reaching out to them on what they have to stay. Is there value trying to stage a strike at this points . Clearly, trying to have an alternative to placing our men and women in this type of military action is the preferable alternative. Although a there wont be boots open the ground related to the strike, there is concern that an ongoing involvement if there is a response from the assad regime that we may in fact end up with troops there. And that is the biggest concern that ive heard from my constituents. Im having another town hall tomorrow where i will listen to my constituents. I spent the latter part of last week meeting with people throughout my district. And but overwhelmingly, people are concerned. They have questions. And theyre not ready to enter into a new military conflict at this time. You know, senator mccain had suggested earlier today that he thought that perhaps the russian proposal would make it easier to get votes in support of this, that in fact if they walked it down, if they did go towards this notion okay were going to let syria have this chance to disarm, does that make you want to support the American Action . I think the larger question should be how we eliminate chemical weapons from any country, whether it be syria, the potential in iran and north korea, or groups of hezbollah. These are the issues of the day and all of us should be striving towards the elimination of chemical weapons. We have not used chemical weapons against other countries nor have chemical weapons been used against the United States since world war 1 and that is a significant progress. And i think we need to continue towards the goal of eliminatingg weapons. Sheila, is congressman horsefords experience similar to others across the aisle . It doesnt matter if you are a republican or democrat. The kinds of concerns that are being expressare all the same kind of expressed are all the same kind of concern. Expressed war weariness, weve had enough, we dont know whats going to come out of it. Im sure those are the things you are hearing in your district too. You oar democrat but not echoing the president s line just buying it. This is not to do with partisanship. I do respect the president s position and the secretary of defense and the secretary of state. While i trust their leadership i also have to make an independent judgment and one that i can justify to my constituents. And so thats why im looking forward to the president s address tomorrow and hoping that he will answer these critical questions that many of my constituents have. We will is all of us being listening here, congressman horseford. Thank you very much. Special note to our viewers, america tonight will bring you special coverage of the president s speech and also an opportunity for america to be heard. Al jazeeras antonio mora and i will address what u. S. Action on syria will mean to all of us and well take questions from our studio and online audience as well. Thats the syria debate. And america tonight town hall, following the president s address on al jazeera america. And when america tonight returns tonight, setting up shop for a new crop and a new customer. Colorados new gold rush and the heady product thats got the feds on high alert. On capitol hill tuesday senators are scheduled to take up high times, and it could be a pot bust. So far, 20 states and the District Of Columbia passed medical marijuana laws but that doesnt make it legal at the federal level. And in january, cd will take it one colorado will take it one step further. As america tonights laurie jane griha reports, theyre rushing to cash in. Andy joseph is a small town businessman a navy veteran a father of five. You would never suspect he is also a pot entrepreneur. The garage right next ohusband house is where he runs his his house is where he runs his business. A business about to be booming, all because of marijuana, a drug illegal in his state. I would never guess that the food i put on my table is ultimately funded by medical marijuana. Joseph invented this machine. Its used to extract botanical oil, like vanilla, mint or this cayenne pepper. You dump this into the machine . Yes. In the last year and a half he has seen an uptick in sales. Most people wouldnt tell us that they were doing cannabis. It wasnt after several conversations that they actually run cannabis through the thing. Josephs wife kristin was skeptical. I laughed and thought, this is a real business now. Entrepreneurs seeking to break into a new market for medical marijuana frowcts, began buying his machine that 18,000 to 100,000 a pop, for pot infused foods. What did you think, when people were using your product for cannabis extraction . They were distracting. They immediately think you are a drug dealer. Im the farthest thing from a drug dealer. But joseph is part of the drug gold rush. The industries are an entrepreneurs dream. At Dixie Elixirs one of josephs machines is hard at work. Today the cannabis oil is going into a chewy chocolate candy, that looks like a tootsie roll. These can be sold at medical marijuana dispensaries for recreational purposes. Business is expected to skyrocket. No matter who you talk to its a billion dollar industry here in the state of colorado alone. Trip keeber is the owner of Dixie Elixirs. In 2014 we will see a million of half a million consumers, in addition to that that could be as high as 3 million visitors in the state interested in having a relationship with the plant. In the past three years, keyber said selling 85 different pot infused foods. This is the most exciting opportunity ive personally been involved in. At the end of the day, it makes me a little bit giddy. I got involved with pot about 12, 13, and probably about 14 years old i got high every day. For jake, a machinist in denver, Legal Marijuana is like a dream come true. You pick up a bag like you pick up your cigarettes or coffee. That is removing the drug dealers, taxes are coming off, helping schools, everything is a good thing. Right now we grow in a 5,000 square foot space. Were trying to triple it. Recreational seamtion becomee legal in january. Those will each house 5,000 square feet of additional growth space. Betts set, the growth is exciting but it comes with real risks. The biggest one is its still considered a schedule 1 drug by the feds. Worst Case Scenario we open our doors to the people over 21 and the federal dea takes all of our product and arrests us. Thats what happened to some dispensaries in california. A cautionary tale for the pot business. After medicinal dispensaries exploded in 2009 and 2010 federal authorities cracked down, raiding marijuana affiliated businesses. This is a hawaiian afghani. My organization, harbor Side Health Center has been the target of multiple federal agencies who have been using everything that they can, short of actually arresting me and putting me on trial in front of a jury. Steve de angelo cofounded harbor Side Health Center in oakland, california, the largest medical dispensary in the country with nearly 130,000 registered patients. The dispensary appears to be thriving but its legal situation is fragile. The Justice Department is seeking civil forfeiture of the building where harbor side operates, charging its in violation of federal drug laws. The reason theyre doing that i think is they want to frighten every other Property Owner in the country and keep them from leasing their premises to medical marijuana operators. Forcing many of them to become all cash businesses. Last year we paid about 1. 5 million to the city in taxes. And we make those payments on a weekly basis. We have to actually transparent huge piles transport huge piles of owner currents down to the Tax Collector to make those payments. Its dangerous. David Wedding Dress or dress, says getting a bank loan is a challenge. At one point i generated a list of all the banks and Credit Unions across the state. And i definitely called 100 of them in a twoweek span. Were distinctly seen as the leader in this industry. They figure if they can scare us out of business, it makes it easier to scare all the smaller people out. Its not clear whether aspiring marijuana moguls in other states will share harborsides fates. The Obama Administration changed hinged its tune recently announcing it wouldnt go after pot regulation as long as theres robust regulation. Colorado is often seen as a model for other states. So colorados pot entrepreneurs may be in business. From merrick tonights laurie jane gliha. A sect leader locked up for sexually abusing children. But officials fear his influence is still being felt ev