The Trump administration’s stance, as directed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, came even as cannabis advocates made inroads across several states. New Jersey is widely expected to legalize cannabis for adult use by the end of the year. State lawmakers in Pennsylvania and New York have kicked off efforts to put recreational use on the books as well. In Connecticut, a recreational use bill made it out of committee for the first time in April.
Could Attorney General Jeff Sessions be fired?
However, this cloudy picture didn't stop pot stocks from steaming to big gains late last week after the feud between President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions escalated to new levels. In an interview with The Hill, Trump said, "I don't have an attorney general. It's very sad."
BuzzFeed's Dominic Holden reports, the ONDCP has asked agencies across the executive branch to share any information that reflects badly on marijuana legalization, including "data demonstrating the most significant negative trends." According to internal memos that Holden obtained, the material will be distilled by something called the Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee, which seems intent on getting Donald Trump to reconsider his support for letting states go their own way in this area.
Turns out, they’re trying to amass a collection of cherry-picked data and scare stories that will reverse surging voter support for ending the federal war on marijuana, which has failed after more than 80 years and tens of millions of arrests.
The White House has secretly amassed a committee of federal agencies from across the government to combat public support for marijuana and cast state legalization measures in a negative light, while attempting to portray the drug as a national threat, according to interviews with agency staff and documents obtained by BuzzFeed News.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Friday that he missed the invite to recent meetings between President Donald Trump and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) concerning marijuana legislation.
In an interview with Colorado Public Radio, the top cop at the Justice Department was asked whether he was involved in conversations between Trump and Gardner, during which the president reportedly voiced support for legislative efforts to protect states that have legalized from federal interference.
On Thursday morning at 10:45 AM ET, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) will hold a press conference to discuss a far-reaching bill they plan to file to end the federal war on marijuana.
The move comes after Gardner cut a deal with President Trump to support such legislation in exchange for the senator ending a blockade on Justice Department nominees he began in protest of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s decision earlier this year to rescind Obama-era guidance generally protecting state cannabis laws.
He may not realize it yet, but U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ opposition to weed could boost cannabis investor wealth.
One particular date stands out as a shining example of Sessions’ impact on cannabis stocks – January 4, 2018.
It was on this very day that Sessions delivered a one-page memo to all attorney generals in the states.
The memo detailed how he repealed all previous guidance regarding cannabis enforcement.
In the year-and-a-bit since Donald Trump took office, Americans have witnessed a neck-wrenching 180-degree turn on an array of policy topics. One of the biggest has been with regard to drugs.