Sessions rescinds Obama-era directive

Three days after legal recreational marijuana sales started in California, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that he is rescinding an Obama-era directive that instructed federal prosecutors not to prioritize prosecuting businesses in states that had legalized marijuana, which remains illegal under federal law.

Sessions said the previous policy “undermines the rule of law.”

In a memo to US attorneys, Sessions said prosecutors should disregard the old guidance and instead use their discretion — taking into consideration the department’s limited resources, the seriousness of the crime and the deterrent effect that they could impose — in weighing whether charges were appropriate.

West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman, who is an instructor at the USC Gould School of Law, said he didn’t foresee many federal prosecutors suddenly deciding to pursue marijuana charges in California, where voter support for legal pot is broad.