The Justice Department is doing away with a policy implemented by the Obama administration which allowed states to legalize marijuana without significant oversight or interference by federal law enforcement, The Associated Press reported Thursday. The move is perplexing, because it flies in the face of recommendations made by a 2017 task force Sessions himself commissioned, which found no evidence to justify deviating from the policy, which took a hands-off approach to recreational marijuana enforcement at the state level, and focused instead on cracking down on those who gave marijuana to minors and criminal groups.
While eight states have legalized recreational marijuana use, in the eyes of the federal government, marijuana is still illegal. Sessions has said in the past he believes marijuana is linked to violent crime. By doing away with the Obama-era policy, Sessions seems to be opening the door for federal law enforcement officials to really crack down on the substance, even in states where it is legal. As MSNBC's Pete Williams puts it, Sessions' proposal is effectively "taking the leash off the [federal attorneys,] but it's not saying sic' em."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Is ChatGPT's new search engine OpenAI's Google 'killer'?Talking Point There's a new AI-backed search engine in town. But can it stand up to Google's decades-long hold on internet searches?
-
Crossword: November 5, 2024The Week's daily crossword
-
Sudoku hard: November 5, 2024The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
US economy still strong in final preelection reportSpeed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strikeSpeed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
-
Ports reopen after dockworkers halt strikeSpeed Read The 36 ports that closed this week, from Maine to Texas, will start reopening today
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detenteSpeed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe feesSpeed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
