A group of lawmakers led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., sent a letter to President Trump on Wednesday urging him to restore Obama-era guidelines that allowed states to determine their own marijuana laws.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memorandum, a 2013 directive from the Obama administration that directed U.S. attorneys to place a “low priority” on enforcing federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized pot. To date, nine states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington) and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing for the recreational use of marijuana. Dozens more have passed laws legalizing it for medicinal use.
Sessions’ decision to rescind the guidelines, the lawmakers said, “will have a chilling effect” in those states.
“This action by the Department of Justice has the potential to unravel efforts to build sensible drug policies that encourage economic development as we finally move away from antiquated practices that have hurt disadvantaged communities,” reads the two-page letter, which was signed by 54 members of Congress, 51 of them Democrats. Three Republicans — Alaska Rep. Don Young, California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz — signed it, too.
The lawmakers pointed out that as a candidate Trump signaled he would leave marijuana laws “up to the states.”
In October, a Gallup survey found 64 percent of Americans believe marijuana use should be legal — the highest level of public support for the proposal in nearly a half-century.
The letter urged Trump to follow the “will of the voters” and allow states to “provide common sense, responsible regulations for marijuana that balance public health and public safety needs with limited criminal justice resources.”
Polis and Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who threatened to block all nominees to Justice Department posts in response to Sessions’ decision, sent a similar letter to Trump on Jan. 4, the day Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo.
“I’m prepared to hold every Justice Department nominee until Jeff Sessions lives up to what he told me, lives up to his commitment,” Gardner tweeted the same day.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memorandum, a 2013 directive from the Obama administration that directed U.S. attorneys to place a “low priority” on enforcing federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized pot. To date, nine states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington) and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing for the recreational use of marijuana. Dozens more have passed laws legalizing it for medicinal use.
Sessions’ decision to rescind the guidelines, the lawmakers said, “will have a chilling effect” in those states.
“This action by the Department of Justice has the potential to unravel efforts to build sensible drug policies that encourage economic development as we finally move away from antiquated practices that have hurt disadvantaged communities,” reads the two-page letter, which was signed by 54 members of Congress, 51 of them Democrats. Three Republicans — Alaska Rep. Don Young, California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz — signed it, too.
In October, a Gallup survey found 64 percent of Americans believe marijuana use should be legal — the highest level of public support for the proposal in nearly a half-century.
The letter urged Trump to follow the “will of the voters” and allow states to “provide common sense, responsible regulations for marijuana that balance public health and public safety needs with limited criminal justice resources.”
Polis and Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who threatened to block all nominees to Justice Department posts in response to Sessions’ decision, sent a similar letter to Trump on Jan. 4, the day Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo.
“I’m prepared to hold every Justice Department nominee until Jeff Sessions lives up to what he told me, lives up to his commitment,” Gardner tweeted the same day.
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