Jeff Sessions Threatens Legalized Marijuana by Reversing Obama-Era Policy
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
On January 4, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rolled back an Obama-era policy of refraining from prosecuting marijuana businesses and individual users in states that have legalized the drug for medicinal or recreational use. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this, calling the move a “return to the rule of law.”
Marijuana Criminalization.
Jeff Sessions announced the decision in a memo sent to all U.S. attorneys that highlighted marijuana’s continued criminalization under federal law. In the memo, he labeled previous DOJ guidance discouraging enforcement as “unnecessary” and “rescinded, effective immediately.”
“It is the mission of the Department of Justice to enforce the laws of the United States, and the previous issuance of guidance undermines the rule of law and the ability of our local, state, tribal […]