Trump Doubles Down on Enforcing Federal Marijuana Law

MARIJUANA POLITICS - The News Source For an Informed Citizenry Post by Don Fitch

The first shoe to fall was the announcement that, as predicted here, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ripped up the Cole Memo protecting state legal marijuana operations. The second shoe fell when asked about this radical change, White House Spokesperson Sarah Sanders asserted, “We have to enforce federal law.”

The readiness by the White House spokesperson for the question and her quick answer are ominous. There was no mention of state’s rights or medical benefits, just the stark statement:

President Trump “strongly believes” in enforcing federal law.

Such a quick and powerful endorsement of Jeff Session’s actions seem to indicate support by the president, a big negative for those who believed Trump’s support for medical cannabis and state’s rights during the campaign. The AG’s green light to his 94 federal prosectors and their 5,000 assistant prosectors threatens the lives, livelihoods, and freedoms of millions of Americans citizens.

Oregon Congressperson Earl Blumenauher spoke on the Attorney General’s dissolving the protections that have helped innovative and prosperous cannabis business florish in legal states:

Mr. Sessions is out of touch. I think he is trapped in time.

Such negative sentiments were the rule following Session’s announcment. Democrats, Republicans, Senators, Representives, Governors, right-wing interest groups, and state Attorney Generals were quick to deplore Session’s unwanted actions.

The only exceptions to the negative reaction came from some police groups and anti-marijuana organizations such as SAM. Ominously, some (though not all) US Attorneys to whom the new policy was directed who are now freed and incentivized for marijuana prosecutions, were big supporters of the DOJ change.

Another worry is the recent stuffing of 17 vacant US Attorneys by Jeff Sessions. Trump fired 46 US Attorneys in March and has not acted on replacing many of them. Jeff Sessions has just stepped in and appointed 17 of these prosectors on an interim basis, free to choose those who echo his bias against marijuana.

The Los Angeles Times just analyzed many of these prosecutors for hints about possible marijuana enforcement.

 

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source https://www.mrs-hardy.com/2018/01/06/trump-doubles-down-on-enforcing-federal-marijuana-law/