Turning back the clock

THE key to understanding the Trump administration’s approach to policy, it seems, is to look at what most Americans want and then imagine the opposite.

Consider the new guidance on marijuana that Attorney-General Jeff Sessions issued last week, which reverses Obama-era policy and gives prosecutors more leeway to enforce federal laws against the drug in states where it is legal.

And yet more than six in 10 Americans, and seven in 10 of those under 30, believe marijuana should be legal, twice as many as in 2000.

Senator Cory Gardner, Republican of Colorado, where legalised marijuana has spawned a $1 billion industry, threatened to block all nominees to the Justice Department until the new policy is dropped.

Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican, laid the blame at the feet of Mr Sessions, saying he “betrayed us on this”. A 2014 law co-sponsored by Mr Rohrabacher prohibits the Justice Department from going after users, growers or sellers of medical marijuana in states where it is legal.Mr Sessions has long held a particular enmity for pot, which he continues to demonise. It’s out of step with current knowledge about the risks and benefits of marijuana.

Whatever its ultimate impact, the memo is yet another example of how the Justice Department under Mr Sessions is turning back the clock on smart, evidence-based justice policy.