AG Sessions indicates to Colorado gov no rec marijuana crackdown

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper emerged from a meeting with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions confident the recreational marijuana industry won’t face a widespread crackdown in the near future.

“He certainly was very direct and clearly said they’ve got a lot of priorities. And, at one point, he said, ‘Well you haven’t seen us cracking down, have you?’ I said, ‘No,'” Hickenlooper said during a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC, the Denver Post reported.

“He is very clear. He is anti-drugs in all forms and he’s not going to, in any way, encourage anyone to start a marijuana business to think it’s a great idea to do or even safe to do so,” Hickenlooper said. “That being said, he didn’t give me any reason to think that he is going to come down and suddenly try to put everyone out of business.”

According to the Denver Post’s editorial board, Hickenlooper’s chief of staff, Doug Friednash, said Sessions found the Justice Department’s Cole memo – written during the Obama administration – “not too far from good policy.”

The meeting ended amicably, according to the Post, and Hickenlooper and Sessions discussed keeping the line of communication open. The attorney general even indicated an interest in visiting Colorado – though he already has a standing invite from Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman.