Reader: Jeff Sessions Is a Prohibitionist Dinosaur Fighting the Future

On January 4, Attorney General Jeff Sessions repealed Obama-era policies regarding cannabis, including the circa 2013 Cole Memorandum, which had essentially advised U.S. Attorneys to skip prosecuting legal activities in states with legal recreational marijuana. The response has been fast and furious: Senator Cory Gardner denounced Sessions, who'd promised that he'd respect states' rights during his confirmation hearings, from the floor of the Senate, and every other member of Colorado's congressional delegation also criticized Sessions. But consumers really got lit...and lit into Sessions. Says Leon: 

 Sessions needs a session. He is going to get sued by every state that's passed marijuana legalization if he even thinks of getting rid of it. That's how this country works. If we don't like a law, we pass new laws to change it. He's just a Prohibitionist dinosaur fighting the future.

Adds Gloria:

Every parent of a child who's NOT having seizures because of marijuana, every person with cancer and all others who are being healed by it should file lawsuits against Sessions. Let's toss this little troll back into the cabbage patch he crawled out of.

Suggests Cody: 

The way to go at this is through Congress and the Senate. They make some legislation veto-proof. Executive orders and memorandi come and go with each administration. We have to win this long battle with a clear mind and not a bleeding heart. Complaining about it does nothing effective. The pendulum will swing again, so rest assured. 

Comments Nancy: 

Sessions must have a short on the MJ stocks. It’s public knowledge that his pockets are deeply funded by the Big Pharma opiates industry, which is also in fear of the medicinal CBDs available for pain and neurological issues along with other uses that Big Pharma can’t charge their ridiculous prices for....Politics. what a joke?

Say Arriel: 

Oh, thank goodness!! Finally someone to do something about those pesky states' rights. What were the Founding fathers thinking of, anyway, in creating something so stupid?

Adds Deon: 

Meanwhile... people are still dying from heroin and opioid pills. Jeff Sessions, take a nap, you crabby little baby. There's a blankey for you in Trump's office.

And then there's this from Langston: 

As I sit and smoke my weed, I am completely aware nothing Sessions said will ever affect me.

Keep reading for some of our coverage of this latest move by Jeff Sessions.
"What the Sessions Memo Means for Hemp, Medical  Marijuana and You"
"Wanda James Calls Sessions Move 'Racist and Geared to Slave Labor'"

"Mayoral Candidate Khalatbari Challenges Hancock's Response to Sessions"

"Colorado Politicians, Cannabis Leaders React to Cole Memo Repeal"

"Cory Gardner Isn't Blowing Smoke at Jeff Sessions"

By rescinding the pot protections, Sessions and the United States Department of Justice authorized U.S. Attorneys to use federal resources to persecute marijuana cultivation, distribution and possession no matter if the activities are compliant with state laws. But in one ray of light, the memo also mentions the DOJ's "finite resources," and asks federal prosecutors to "weigh all relevant considerations" concerning the seriousness of the crimes before prosecuting.

That leaves some ambiguity as to what happens next in states that have legalized recreational marijuana, such as Colorado.

Robert Troyer, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado and the man who decides how to enforce federal cannabis laws here, issued a statement shortly after Sessions issued his memo, saying that his office had already been operating under the principles Sessions outlined and would continue focusing on the "greatest safety threats to our communities around the state."

Is legal marijuana one of those? Not according to most readers. What do you think of Sessions's move? Post a comment or email [email protected].