Lawmakers Ask Trump to Restore Marijuana Policy
/By Pat Anson, Editor
A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) has urged President Trump to reinstate an Obama-era policy that instructed U.S. Attorneys not to investigate or prosecute marijuana cases in states that have legalized cannabis.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the so-called Cole memo, the lenient marijuana policy adopted by the Justice Department in 2013. Sessions, who is a longtime critic of marijuana legalization, said the Colo memo was “unnecessary” and “undermines the rule of law.” He authorized U.S. Attorneys to use their own discretion in investigating and prosecuting marijuana cases.
In a letter to President Trump signed by 54 members of Congress (51 Democrats and 3 Republicans), the lawmakers said Sessions’ order will “have a chilling effect” in states where medical or recreational marijuana has been legalized.
“This action has the potential to unravel efforts to build sensible drug policies that encourage economic development as we are finally moving away from antiquated practices that have hurt disadvantaged communities. These new policies have instead helped eliminate the black market sale of marijuana and allowed law enforcement to focus on real threats to public health and safety,” the letter said.
The letter also pointed out that Trump promised during the 2016 campaign that he would not change the federal enforcement policy on marijuana.
“I wouldn’t do that, no,” Trump said in an interview. “I think it’s up to the states. I’m a states’ person. I think it’s up to the states, absolutely.”
“We trust that you still hold that belief, and we request that you urge the Attorney General to reinstate the Cole Memorandum. This step would create a pathway to a more comprehensive marijuana policy that respects state interests and prerogatives,” the letter from lawmakers said.
Although 29 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana in some form, federal law still prohibits its sale or possession under the Controlled Substances Act.
According to a recent Gallup Poll, 64% of Americans believe marijuana should be legalized. The issue has broad bipartisan support, with 51% of Republicans and 72% of Democrats supporting legalization.
New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy (D) signed an executive order this week instructing the state health department to expand access to medical marijuana. Although cannabis has been legal in the state since 2010, New Jersey’s medical marijuana law was so rigid that only 15,000 patients qualified for it in a state with 9 million people.
Murphy’s order directs the health department to lift restrictions on doctors that can prescribe cannabis, review the number of medical conditions for which it can be prescribed, allow more dispensaries to open, and consider the sale of edible marijuana products.
