Trump should live up to his campaign vow and leave recreational pot to the states.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer’s assertion that there would be “greater enforcement” of federal law when it comes to recreational marijuana programs has stirred uncertainty and angst in a state that sold and taxed $1.3 billion worth of pot in 2016.

But before industry leaders start plotting a secession movement, let’s all take a deep breath.

President Donald Trump has never indicated shutting down recreational or medical marijuana programs in states was on his priority list. In fact, the president said while in Colorado in August that he wouldn’t take such action in Colorado: “I think it’s up to the states, yeah. I’m a states person. I think it should be up to the states, absolutely.” So what gives? We hope Spicer was referring to “greater enforcement” within the guidelines of the fairly permissive Cole Memo adhered to by federal authorities under President Barack Obama. Federal agents could increase their activity in Colorado to help prevent the distribution of marijuana to minors, shut down gangs and cartels operating outside state regulation, and stop the transportation of the drug across state lines. More enforcement in those areas would keep marijuana out of the black market and in reputable stores where only adults can purchase it and only after they pay a hefty tax.

We hope Spicer did not mean that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions would issue a new memo treading on weed: one that directs federal agents to raid recreational marijuana businesses in Colorado, Washington, D.C., and the six other states where voters have approved legal pot sales. We hope such a memo wouldn’t also inad- vertently interfere with the medical marijuana programs in 28 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the District of Columbia.

An abrupt change from the status quo would do far more harm than good. The U.S. Department of Justice’s enforcement guidelines, as laid out in the Cole Memo, created a vacuum of federal marijuana enforcement that allowed Colorado’s well-regulated industry to thrive. That industry fostered 18,000 direct and related full-time jobs in Colorado in 2015.

Enough American states have now said yes to medical marijuana to almost reach the point of symbolic ratification. The same day Spicer made his concerning comments, Quinnipiac released a poll that indicated 59 percent of adults support legalization of marijuana use, 93 percent support medical marijuana and 71 percent would oppose a federal crackdown on legal marijuana operations.

Against such a backdrop, and given his party’s control of Congress, there’s one easy way Trump could act in this area without the chaos a reversal of Obama’s policies would create: Change federal marijuana law. Colorado’s congressional delegation, Republicans and Democrats, need to unite and advocate for businesses in their state that are undoubtedly on edge following Spicer’s remarks. This moment of uncertainty could be a rallying cry for congressional action, for a hard look at whether it really makes sense to classify marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug — a category so serious it includes LSD and heroin.

Short of that, Trump should live up to his campaign promise and leave the matter to the states, and to the conscious of the millions of Americans who have supported the cannabis experiment.