The Attorney General seems intent on dismantling the entire legal marijuana industry.
It has been a rough tenure so far for U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. On Tuesday, he provided testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding his potential ties to Russian officials.
But Sessions may have other troubles as well. His opposition to marijuana reform is well documented. He has linked the use of marijuana with “more violence than one would think” and has dismissed the medical efficacy of the plant as well. There is widespread belief that Sessions is seeking a crackdown on the cannabis industry, despite what the public and science feel about the issue.
Thankfully, the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment prevents Sessions from being able to do so, at least for now. Rohrabacher-Farr prevents the Department of Justice from prosecuting any marijuana business that is in compliance with state law. However, it is part of the federal budget, and as such, is tied to the politics of Congress. Rohrabacher-Farr has to be approved with every budget put out by Congress.
While there is protection from Sessions, for the time being, the Attorney General sent a letter to Congress requesting that they allow him to move forward on his desired crackdown, despite Rohrabacher-Farr.
“I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime,” he wrote in the letter. “The Department must be in a position to use all laws available to combat the transnational drug organizations and dangerous drug traffickers who threaten American lives.”
With approximately 90 percent of Americans supporting medical marijuana, it may be unlikely that the already unpopular Congress is willing to grant Sessions his wish.
