WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Justice has shifted course from an Obama-era policy that amounted to a “hands-off” approach to interference with marijuana-friendly state laws.
This shifts federal policy adopted under the previous administration and now allows federal prosecutors to decide individually how to crack down on marijuana possession, distribution, and growing in states where it is legal.
Marijuana is still illegal under federal law, even while many states have decriminalized or legalized it.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the move a “return to the rule of law.” However, he stopped short of explicitly directing more prosecutions under federal law. Some marijuana advocates had feared Sessions would call for the industry to be taken down as a whole.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum issued the following statement after the DOJ’s announcement:
“Last year in Oregon, we collected over $60 million in state taxes as a result of our now legal marijuana industry. At the Oregon Department of Justice we will continue to make sure Oregon’s marijuana industry thrives under our carefully considered state regulatory requirements. The United States Attorney General Jeff Session’s decision today to rescind the Cole Memo, which has provided helpful guidance over the past five years to Oregon and other states that have legalized marijuana, is yet another example of this administration’s overreach. I value my working relationship with Oregon U.S. Attorney-nominee Bill Williams and I look forward to working with his office. States up and down the West Coast, and beyond, have spoken. This is an industry that Oregonians have chosen—and one I will do everything within my legal authority to protect.”
Billy J. Williams, United States Attorney for the District of Oregon, provided the following statement on marijuana enforcement in the District of Oregon:
“As noted by Attorney General Sessions, today’s memo on marijuana enforcement directs all U.S. Attorneys to use the reasoned exercise of discretion when pursuing prosecutions related to marijuana crimes. We will continue working with our federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners to pursue shared public safety objectives, with an emphasis on stemming the overproduction of marijuana and the diversion of marijuana out of state, dismantling criminal organizations and thwarting violent crime in our communities.”
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