Sessions: Justice Department still discussing marijuana enforcement

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his Department of Justice have yet to make up their minds about how to approach federal marijuana policy.

That’s the latest from Sessions when it comes to the Trump administration’s murky cannabis policy. During a Wednesday press conference, he said that DOJ officials had been discussing marijuana enforcement “at some length” earlier this week, The Cannabist reported.

“It’s my view that the use of marijuana is detrimental and we should not give encouragement in any way to it,” Sessions said.

“It represents a federal violation which is in the law and is subject to being enforced, and our priorities will have to be focused on all the things and challenges we face,” he said. “We’ll be working our way through to a rational policy. But I don’t want to suggest in any way that this department believes that marijuana is harmless and people should not avoid it.”

Sessions’ latest statements – in which he appeared to equivocate over the fate of the 2013 Cole Memo – are yet another reinforcement for the ongoing federal uncertainty over national marijuana policy.

Less than two weeks ago, Sessions told a congressional committee that the Cole Memo was essentially still in effect.