Sessions reverses hands-off policy on legal pot
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department sent a shiver of uncertainty through the legal-marijuana industry Thursday by rescinding Obama administration policies not to interfere with state laws allowing people to use pot for medical and recreational uses.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions characterized the shift as a “return to the rule of law” in a memo outlining the change. But federal officials could not answer whether people selling or using marijuana — in states where it’s considered legal — would now be more at risk of prosecution.
Senior Justice officials said the previous administration’s position, mainly drafted by former deputy attorney general James Cole, had provided a “de facto safe haven” for the weed industry.
“This (Sessions) memo has no defacto safe haven in it,” said the officials, who briefed reporters under condition of anonymity because the memo had not yet been circulated to U.S. attorneys.
Sessions has long signaled his disagreement with the Obama administration’s stance on pot. But the spare, onepage document did not contain any new guidelines for how the policy change would be enforced. It indicated only that guidance issued by the previous administration — which did not challenge state laws as long as marijuana sales did not conflict with federal policies — was unnecessary.
“This memorandum is intended solely as a guide to the exercise of investigative and prosecutorial discretion,” Sessions said in the memo.
The Obama policy did not change marijuana’s federal classification as an
The Obama administration’s position had provided a “de facto safe haven” for the marijuana industry.
illegal drug. But it effectively discouraged the pursuit of non-violent marijuana users who have no links to criminal gangs or cartel operations.
Later Thursday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Trump supported the action. “The president strongly believes that we should enforce federal law,” which recognizes marijuana as illegal, she said. Yet the comment contrasts with what Trump said on the campaign trail: that marijuana legalization should be left up to the states.
The move sowed new unpredictability into an industry that has flourished largely because federal prosecutors have maintained a hands-off approach.
The announcement comes the same week California launched sales of recreational marijuana for adults. Every state that has approved such sales — Alaska, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Colorado, Maine and Massachusetts — has done so though voter approval at the ballot box.
Several recent surveys have shown that at least 60% of Americans support some form of marijuana legalization, and 29 states have approved medical use. Medical use of marijuana is now protected by Congress, although that expires later this month unless reapproved.