On Monday, California became the 7th state to legalize recreational marijuana. Yesterday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced an end to an Obama-era policy that allowed legal pot to flourish in states across the country. The measure effectively limited the federal government from prosecuting businesses that were in compliance with state laws. If a state were to legalize the sale of marijuana, the Department of Justice was not able to prosecute in any meaningful way.
Now, AG Sessions says that the decision to prosecute dispensaries will be left to individual U.S. attorneys. According to the Justice Department the decision to overrule the Obama-era policy "undermined the rule of law." The decision has left state officials and business owners with a vague understanding of what's to come for legal marijuana during the Trump administration.
Yesterday, Colorado Senator Cory Gardner took the Senate floor to decry the Justice Department's decision. Colorado has already amassed half a billion dollars in tax revenue from legal marijuana. Gardner told his colleagues in the Senate that he would block any future Justice Department nominations if Sessions did not revise his decision to attack legal marijuana.
While it is currently unclear how Sessions, the Justice Department, and the DEA will go after legal marijuana, Gardner and marijuana advocates have made it clear that they will fight them at every turn.
What are your thoughts on legal marijuana and the selective regulation GOP leadership pushes when it assumes power in Washington?