Sessions to end Obama policy shielding legalized pot

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rescinding Obama administration policy that shielded legalized marijuana from federal intervention.

A Jan. 3 statement from the Attorney General’s office announced that the Department of Justice issued a memo on federal marijuana enforcement policy, announcing “a return to the rule of law and the rescission of previous guidance documents.”

The statement noted that since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, Congress has generally prohibited the cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana.

And, in a one-page memorandum, Sessions directed all U.S. Attorneys to enforce the laws enacted by Congress and to follow well-established principles when pursuing prosecutions related to marijuana activities.

Sessions stated, “Today’s memo on federal marijuana enforcement simply directs all U.S. Attorneys to use previously established prosecutorial principles that provide them all the necessary tools to disrupt criminal organizations, tackle the growing drug crisis and thwart violent crime across our country.”

The attorney general made the announcement Jan. 4, just days after California began allowing sales of recreational marijuana. In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana. Since then, five more states have passed recreational pot laws. Also, 29 states have adopted medical marijuana laws.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was quick to respond to Sessions. The former presidential candidate said, “No one who has seriously studied the issue believes that marijuana should be classified as a Schedule 1 drug beside killer drugs like heroin. Quite the contrary. We should allow states the right to move toward the decriminalization of marijuana, not reverse the progress that has been made in recent years.”

Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, called the news disturbing and referred to polls showing 73 percent of voters oppose federal interference with state cannabis laws.

“But, the rescinding of this memo does not necessarily mean that any major change in enforcement policy is on the horizon,” Smith said. “This has been, and still will be, a matter of prosecutorial discretion.”

He said the Justice Department should not interfere with state cannabis programs, which have been overwhelmingly successful in undercutting the criminal market.

“In addition to safely regulating the production and sale of cannabis, state-based cannabis programs have created tens of thousands of jobs and generated more than a billion dollars in state and local tax revenue to date,” Smith said. “Any significant change in federal enforcement policy will result in higher unemployment and will take funds away from education and other beneficial programs. Those revenues will instead go back to drug cartels and other criminal actors.”

Editor's note: This story will be updated.