California’s cannabis crowd isn’t afraid of the Big Bad Attorney General
Sweeping changes in federal enforcement are unlikely, experts say
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Lots of people, obviously, are unhappy with Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ reversal of Obama-era guidelines de-prioritizing federal enforcement of marijuana laws in states that have legalized pot for recreational or medicinal use. Thursday’s announcement drew a swift rebuke from criminal justice reformers and members of Congress concerned about a potential federal crackdown on the burgeoning multibillion-dollar industry. So does Sessions’ move signal the beginning of the end for legal weed? Mark Kleiman, an expert on federal drug laws at New York University, doesn’t think so. “All he really said was if a US attorney wants to make one of these cases, I’m withdrawing the guidance telling him not to do so.”