Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in a move that has alarmed the nation’s growing $7.9 billion legalized marijuana industry, has told federal prosecutors they can resume full-bore enforcement of federal laws against use and possession of the drug, even in the eight states that have legalized its recreational use.
Aside from being a futile attempt to put the legalized-marijuana genie back in the bottle, it’s a mark of hypocrisy for Sessions, a former Alabama senator who had long championed the right of states to set their own laws without being bigfooted by an oppressive federal government. Missouri is among 46 states that allow at least some limited use of cannabis extracts for medical purposes.
The actual effect of Sessions’ decision is likely to be minimal. The 93 U.S. attorneys around the nation still have the discretion to back off and deploy their limited resources against more serious crimes. But business doesn’t like uncertainty, and Sessions’ decision has made some people in the pot business wary. One investment fund that focuses on marijuana-related stocks fell 9 percent after Sessions’ announcement Thursday. Even shares in the fertilizer company Scotts Miracle-Gro dropped 7 percent ahead of the news.
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Technically Sessions rolled back two Obama administration directives, one saying federal prosecutors should give a pass to violations involving medical marijuana, the other suggesting a hands-off posture in states that have legalized recreational use.
Sessions is a die-hard in the failed War on Drugs who sees marijuana as a gateway drug. In a Senate hearing last year, he said, “Good people don’t smoke marijuana,” adding that it should not be legalized. “You can see the accidents, traffic deaths related to marijuana. And you’ll see cocaine and heroin increase more than it would have, I think.”
Research has debunked those arguments even as it shows marijuana prosecutions are heavily weighted against African-Americans. State governments have found that increased usage of medical marijuana has reduced their Medicaid costs. In October, a Gallup poll reported that 64 percent of Americans, including 51 percent of Republicans, now favor legalizing marijuana.
GOP politicians from recreational-use states, fearing political blowback, reacted to Sessions’ decision with alarm. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., vowed to hold up the confirmation of any Justice Department appointee until Sessions reverses course.
Congress could fix this easily enough by revisiting the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, where marijuana is listed as a Schedule I drug alongside heroin. Schedule I drugs must have no acceptable medical use, as marijuana surely does, and a high potential for abuse. Marijuana is sometimes abused, but far less than alcohol, which is not on the controlled substance list at all.
The perfect irony would be if Sessions’ rash action wound up prompting Congress to pass rational marijuana laws.
