Local feelings a factor in pot crackdown, experts say
DENVER — Whether to crack down on marijuana in states where it is legal is a decision that will now rest with those states’ top federal prosecutors, many of whom are deeply rooted in their communities and might be reluctant to pursue cannabis businesses or their customers.
When he rescinded the Justice Department’s previous guidance on marijuana, Attorney General Jeff Sessions left the issue to a mixture of prosecutors who were appointed by President Donald Trump’s administration and others who are holdovers from the Barack Obama years.
People familiar with the job of U.S. attorney say prosecutors could decide against using already limited resources to seek criminal charges against cannabis companies that abide by state regulations or their customers.
“There are higher priorities: terrorism and opiates to start with,” said Rory Little, a former prosecutor and a professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law. “You also have to draw the jury pool from the local people, who appear to generally support the state policy. You’re not going to waste your resources on cases you can’t win or cases your community is against.”
Until Sessions’ announcement on Thursday, federal prosecutors followed guidelines laid out in the so-called Cole memo, which was issued by the Justice Department during the Obama administration. The memo discouraged prosecutors from going after people participating in the marijuana trade in states where recreational marijuana is legal, except in cases with aggravating factors.
Sessions revoked that document, citing the fact that pot remains illegal under federal law.
U.S. attorneys around the country responded cautiously to Sessions’ announcement.
In Colorado, interim U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer said his office will continue to focus on “identifying and prosecuting those who create the greatest safety threats to our communities around the state.”
Troyer took over the office on an acting basis when Walsh, the Obama appointee, left.
The new U.S. attorney in Massachusetts, Andrew Lelling, a Trump appointee who was confirmed by the Senate in mid-December, called marijuana “a dangerous drug” in his statement on Sessions’ action. But he also said his office will focus on “bulk cultivation and trafficking cases, and those who use the federal banking system illegally” while considering its available resources, the seriousness of each crime and its effects.
In California’s Eastern District, newly sworn-in U.S. Attorney McGregor “Greg” Scott grew up in Humboldt County, deep in California’s famed “Emerald Triangle” marijuana-growing region. He has spoken favorably of a previous federal marijuana crackdown.
Scott’s spokeswoman, Lauren Horwood, said he declined to comment on the most recent federal move.
John Walsh, the former U.S. attorney for Colorado, said sitting and incoming top federal prosecutors in potfriendly states should rely on their staffs, who have years of experience investigating cases, to put marijuana in context with other priorities.
“Those people make decisions about which cases they can win and which cases are crucial,” he said.