Sessions to rescind Cole Memo that kept feds out of legal marijuana states
The move will leave it to U.S. attorneys where pot is legal to decide whether to aggressively enforce federal marijuana law
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rescinding the Obama-era policy that paved the way for legalized marijuana to flourish in states across the country. Sessions will instead let federal prosecutors where pot is legal decide how aggressively to enforce federal marijuana law. The move will add to confusion about whether it’s OK to grow, buy or use marijuana in states where pot is legal, since long-standing federal law prohibits it. It comes days after pot shops opened in California, launching what is expected to become the world’s largest market for legal recreational marijuana and as polls show a solid majority of Americans believe the drug should be legal. (See also: Sessions will end policy that allowed legalized marijuana to prosper | Here's why Trump can't beat pot)