Attorney General Jeff Sessions suggested that federal authorities are preparing to crack down on marijuana even in states where it has been legalized for recreational use, Newsweek writes. Sessions hinted of a coming Department of Justice crackdown on the drug on Wednesday, suggesting there were likely to be changes to the department’s policy on cannabis.
“We’re looking at that very hard right now, we had a meeting yesterday and talked about it at some length. It’s my view that the use of marijuana is detrimental, and we should not give encouragement in any way to it, and it represents a federal violation, which is in the law and is subject to being enforced,” Sessions said at a press conference.
The attorney general previously stated that he believes cannabis is as harmful as heroin, although in a November hearing he appeared to have softened his stance on the drug; which is legal for medical use in 29 states and Washington, D.C., while recreational marijuana is legal in eight states and D.C., despite being prohibited on a federal level, Newsweek adds.
“Our policy is the same, really, fundamentally as the (Obama) policy, which is that the federal law remains in effect and a state can legalize marijuana for its law enforcement purposes but it still remains illegal with regard to federal purposes,” Sessions stressed.
The former Alabama senator has long been an opponent of marijuana legalization. He stated in March that he did not back weed legalization. However, his agency has not publicly moved to change the existing rider that prevents the federal government from getting involved in state marijuana laws—although that may be about to change, Newsweek informs.
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