Senators push AG Sessions to back off on marijuana

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Two U.S. senators from states with legal adult-use marijuana led a letter-writing effort asking U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to back off from any Department of Justice crackdown targeting recreational cannabis.

According to Politico, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) co-signed a letter on Thursday to Sessions stating, “We respectfully request that you uphold DOJ’s existing policy regarding states that have implemented strong and effective regulations for recreational use.”

 The Obama administration allowed states to implement their own marijuana laws. Recent comments from Sessions and White Press Secretary Sean Spicer have led industry watchers to question whether the Trump administration would change the federal government’s stance toward adult-use cannabis.

Adding to the confusion over the Trump administration’s stance is the fact that some Republican senators have said Sessions reassured them privately that there wouldn’t be a major change in marijuana enforcement, Politico reported.

The following Senate Democrats also signed the Sessions letter: Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado..

Separately, Nevada’s two senators sent a letter to Sessions on Wednesday urging the attorney general to allow states to carry on with their their own adult-use cannabis programs, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Nevada is in the process of rolling out a rec program.