and do what? anything large scale would be massively unpopular, trump would never let that happen. legal is here to stay in colorado![]()
Jeff Sessions ends policy that let legal pot flourish
Justice Department Issues Memo on Marijuana Enforcement
Last Updated Jan 4, 2018 2:47 PM EST
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a marijuana enforcement memo Thursday rescinding the Obama administration's guidance, which enabled states to legalize marijuana without federal intervention. His one-page memo makes it clear that marijuana possession and distribution is against federal law, and it will direct U.S. attorneys to approach these cases as they do all other cases when enforcing them.
The move now injects uncertainty into the growing industry in the regions of the country that have legalized the drug, CBS News' Jeff Pegues points out. Many are likely to be confused about whether it's okay to grow, buy or use marijuana in states where it's legal, since long-standing federal law prohibits it.
So far eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug for recreational use, and it is now helping to fund schools and even law enforcement. California just began selling recreational marijuana in recent days. The new guidance threatens to upend sales by giving federal prosecutors more discretion in how they enforce federal law. According to a senior DOJ official, "This is the return of the rule of law," Pegues reports.
Sessions told reporters Thursday that the Obama guidance in the Cole memo -- written by then-Deputy Attorney General James Cole -- wasn't consistent with federal law.
"It was interpreted as a safe harbor for individuals," Sessions said. "This memo does not have safe harbors in it."
He said that U.S. attorneys should understand that the attorney general believes marijuana is against federal law, and should there be prosecutions that need to be brought in order to enforce that law, "then they should" bring those cases.
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