States that have legalized pot write to attorney general over fears of crackdown on legal marijuana trade

• Four Democratic governors have written the Trump administration seeking a continuation of federal latitude on marijuana policy
• The states have legalized recreational pot use, and are seeking to maintain a policy that avoids strict enforcement of federal anti-drug laws
• Governors of Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska all signed
• Changes would 'divert existing marijuana product into the black market' and endanger the states
• Governors are lobbying to keep the status quo 
• Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a critical view of marijuana use 

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.s.

Four Democratic governors from states that allow for recreational pot use have written the Trump administration asking for the government to maintain its current policies regarding their status.

The governors, who represent Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska, want the feds to maintain an Obama administration policy reached in 2013 to avoid strict enforcement of federal drug laws.

The states, which adopted the relaxation for recreational use, want to be able to continue their state policies without facing a federal crackdown by continuing the application of the 2013 Cole Memo issued by the Justice Department.

'Overhauling the Cole Memo is sure to produce unintended and harmful consequences,” the governors wrote, The Hill newspaper reported.

“Changes that hurt the regulated market would divert existing marijuana product into the black market and increase dangerous activity in both our states and our neighboring states,' they wrote.

Four governors from states that have legalized recreational pot use have written Attorney General Jeff Sessions seeking consultation if the government makes any changes to enforcement of marijuana laws.

On Election Day in Florida, a medical marijuana initiative got 2 million votes than Trump did, Politico reported.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer promised in February there would be 'greater enforcement' of marijuana laws, while stressing differences between recreational and medicinal use.

'The president understands the pain and suffering that many people go through who are facing, especially terminal diseases, and the comfort that some of these drugs, including medical marijuana, can bring to them,” Spicer said.

The governors wrote to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Sessions famously said of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1980s when he was a U.S. attorney that he thought they 'were OK until I found out they smoked pot.'

He said last year that 'good people don't smoke marijuana,' calling it 'not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized.'

Marijuana continues to be a Schedule 1 drug, which the DEA categorizes along with Heroin and LSD.

The 2013 Justice Department memo by James Cole states that, 'In jurisdictions that have enacted laws legalizing marijuana in some form ... conduct in compliance with those laws and regulations is less likely to threaten the federal priorities,' basically stating a lack of priority for enforcement of marijuana cases.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper told The Hill last month, 'I took an oath to support the constitution of Colorado. I want to make sure that we have a discussion about it. I’ll come back, we’ll try to set a meeting up.'

The letter states: 'As governors of states that have legalized marijuana in some form, we ask the Trump Administration to engage with us before embarking on any changes to regulatory and enforcement systems. The balance struck by the 2013 Department of Justice Cole Memorandum (Cole Memo) has been indispensable – providing the necessary framework for state regulatory programs centered on public safety and health protections.

'Twenty-eight states, representing more than 60 percent of Americans, have authorized some form of marijuana-related conduct,' they wrote.

The governors noted that not all of them were cheerleaders for legalization in their states.

'We understand you and others in the administration have some concerns regarding marijuana,' according to the letter, according to Westword, a Denver weekly. 'We sympathize, as many of us expressed apprehensions before our states adopted current laws. As governors, we have committed to implementing the will of our citizens and have worked cooperatively with our legislatures to establish robust regulatory structures that prioritize public health and public safety, reduce inequitable incarceration and expand our economies.'

The letters also brings up the safety risk posed by marijuana related business being forced to do business on a cash basis due to banking issues, referencing guidelines for lenders.

Without federal guidance, 'financial institutions will be less willing to provide services to marijuana-related businesses,' they write. 'This would force industry participants to be even more cash reliant, posing safety risks both to the public and to state regulators conducting enforcement activity.

Colorado and Washington voters both approved measures allowing for recreational marijuana use in 2012.