LIVE UPDATES: AG Sessions revokes Cole Memo, roiling marijuana industry
Title: FAQ: What We Know About Jeff Sessions’ DOJ Action Against Legal Cannabis
Author: Leafly
Date: 4 January 2018
URL: https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/faq-what-we-know-about-jeff-sessions-doj-action-against-legal-cannabis
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US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday that he is rescinding the Cole memo, an Obama-era Department of Justice guideline that set a policy of federal noninterference with state-legal cannabis. While the move itself doesn’t trigger any immediate legal action, it’s a sign that the federal prosecutors may intend to ramp up legal actions against cannabis businesses in legal states.
We’ve tried to answer a few of the most common questions about what Sessions’ move might mean. Do you have others? Let us know in the comments. We’ll be updating this page as the situation develops.
Marijuana businesses rush to decipher Sessions’ decision as legal experts advise caution
Title: Sessions rescinds Cole Memo that kept feds out of legal marijuana states The move reportedly will leave it to U.S. state attorneys where cannabis is legal to decide whether to aggressively enforce federal marijuana laws
Author: Cannabis / Denver Post
Date: 4 January 2018
URL: http://www.thecannabist.co/2018/01/04/jeff-sessions-rescinding-legalized-marijuana-policy/95875/
Extract: The move by President Donald Trump’s attorney general likely will add to confusion about whether it’s OK to grow, buy or use marijuana in states where cannabis is legal, since long-standing federal law prohibits it. It comes days after pot shops opened in California, launching what is expected to become the world’s largest market for legal recreational marijuana and as polls show a solid majority of Americans believe the drug should be legal.
Title: DOJ Reverses Obama-Era Protections for Cannabis Industry New policy leaves prosecutorial discretion to U.S. Attorneys.
Author: Cannabis Times
Date: 4 January 2018
Extract: Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Jan. 4 the end of the federal policy outlined in the Cole Memo and the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) memos (on banking) that protected state legal cannabis businesses and banks that do business with them, instead leaving it up to U.S. Attorneys to decide whether to prosecute those groups.
“The Department of Justice today issued a memo on federal marijuana enforcement policy announcing a return to the rule of law and the rescission of previous guidance documents. Since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in 1970, Congress has generally prohibited the cultivation, distribution, and possession of marijuana,” the DOJ said in a press release.
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