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U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will reportedly rescind the Cole Memo (DoJ), effectively ending the moratorium on enforcing cannabis prohibition in states where it has been legalized:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will roll back an Obama-era policy that gave states leeway to allow marijuana for recreational purposes.
Two sources with knowledge of the decision confirmed to The Hill that Sessions will rescind the so-called Cole memo, which ordered U.S. attorneys in states where marijuana has been legalized to deprioritize prosecution of marijuana-related cases.
The Associated Press first reported the decision.
Sessions, a vocal critic of marijuana legalization, has hinted for months that he would move to crack down on the growing cannabis market.
Republican Senator Cory Gardner says he will hold up the confirmation process for DoJ nominees:
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) threatened on Thursday to start holding up the confirmation process for White House Justice Department nominees unless Attorney General Jeff Sessions reverses a decision to roll back a policy allowing legalized recreational use of marijuana in some states.
Gardner said in a series of tweets that Sessions had told him before he was confirmed by the Senate that he would not change an Obama-era policy that discouraged federal prosecutors from pursuing marijuana-related offenses in states where the substance had been legalized. Colorado is one of those states.
[...] The Justice Department's reversal of the Cole memo on Thursday came three days after California's new law allowing recreational marijuana use went into effect.
Other politicians have reacted strongly to the news.
Previously: New Attorney General Claims Legal Weed Drives Violent Crime; Statistics be Damned
4/20: The Third Time's Not the Charm
Jeff Sessions Reboots the Drug War
According to Gallup, American Support for Cannabis Legalization is at an All-Time High
Opioid Commission Drops the Ball, Demonizes Cannabis
Recreational Cannabis Goes on Sale in California
Related: Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions Backs Crypto Backdoors
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 04 2018, @11:04PM (12 children)
On what basis? Marijuana remains illegal under federal law. The whole notion that it's legal anywhere in the US is fiction. It's just like it's been for years, in some areas the laws are being enforced and in other ones it's not.
Either marijuana is going to be legal or it's not. This current situation where the legality is wholly dependent upon which agency does the arrest and which court you wind up in is something that is sorely in need of resolution.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by takyon on Thursday January 04 2018, @11:16PM (7 children)
The Cole Memo let the states bypass the do-nothing Congress.
If Congress still elects to do the wrong thing, there's another avenue: the Supreme Court. The Supremacy Clause could be neatly sidestepped if a fresh set of justices found some aspect of federal enforcement, such as the Controlled Substances Act, to be unconstitutional.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday January 04 2018, @11:44PM (6 children)
I don't have any issue with pot being legalized but it needs to be done legally. Any executive officer not enforcing the law is violating their oath of office and needs to be removed.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by NewNic on Friday January 05 2018, @12:18AM (4 children)
Uh, what?
The oath of office talks about supporting and defending the constitution and since the body that is tasked with interpreting the constitution (the Supreme Court) has affirmed the principle of prosecutorial discretion, they are not required to enforce these laws in order to be in compliance with their oath of office.
lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday January 05 2018, @12:42AM (3 children)
Yes, that would in fact be the bullshit loophole in question. SCOTUS making bad rulings is nothing new.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by NewNic on Friday January 05 2018, @12:58AM (2 children)
I can certainly agree with you on that (but perhaps we might not agree on which rulings were bad: I would start with Wickard v. Filburn and the rulings which rely upon it).
But, that is the law of the land and the present office holders all made their oaths with the knowledge that prosecutorial discretion was the law of the land.
Question: why does it take a constitutional amendment to ban alcohol, but only a law passed by Congress to ban drugs?
lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday January 05 2018, @01:56AM
It didn't. There are many, many ways to make something illegal under current (bad) case law. The commerce clause alone could have been exploited to illegalize anything they wanted.
Before you go supporting Obama and deriding Trump on this, I'd like you to put five minutes in thinking of the worst possible abuses of selective law enforcement by those in power. If we allow this kind of shit to go on, I guarantee they will come to pass.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Informative) by AthanasiusKircher on Friday January 05 2018, @02:58AM
I just posted this elsewhere above, but since you asked, here's the answer [stackexchange.com]. As to why marijuana was specifically targeted under this new legal regime, I've reviewed some of the here [soylentnews.org]. (I assume you likely know part of the answer and were asking this somewhat rhetorically, but many likely don't know the whole history.)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 05 2018, @02:54AM
No, members of the executive branch always must bear some responsibility for enforcing unjust laws they didn't create.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by hemocyanin on Friday January 05 2018, @12:05AM (2 children)
I want to State Governors order the State Police to defend pot shops against the DEA and FBI. It's time to break up the Feds.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday January 05 2018, @12:22AM (1 child)
Yes, that's right. Standing up to the feds has worked so well before. Let me count the ways. I don't know how the republic is still standing.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Friday January 05 2018, @06:56AM
Nothing last for ever. It's time will come.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 05 2018, @03:05AM
The federal war on drugs is unconstitutional, even if the courts fail to recognize that.