Posted on 03/10/2018 12:55:20 PM PST by Drew68
WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutors won't take on small-time marijuana cases, despite the Justice Department's decision to lift an Obama-era policy that discouraged U.S. authorities from cracking down on the pot trade in states where the drug is legal, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Saturday. Federal law enforcement lacks the resources to take on "routine cases" and will continue to focus on drug gangs and larger conspiracies, Sessions said, speaking at a Federalist Society event in Washington, D.C.
The comments come after the Trump administration in January threw the burgeoning marijuana legalization movement into uncertainty by reversing the largely hands-off approach that prevailed during the Obama administration, saying federal prosecutors should instead handle marijuana cases however they see fit.
The Obama-era policy allowed the pot trade to flourish, with eight states legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
The reversal added to confusion about whether it's OK to grow, buy or use marijuana in states where pot is legal, since long-standing federal law prohibits it. And it caused concern that prosecutors would feel empowered to jail individuals for marijuana possession.
"I am not going to tell Colorado or California or someone else that possession of marijuana is legal under United States law," Sessions said, answering student questions after the speech at Georgetown's law school. But, he added, federal prosecutors "haven't been working small marijuana cases before, they are not going to be working them now."
Of particular interest are problems that federal authorities have tried for years to tackle, like illegal marijuana-growing operations on national parklands and gangs that peddle pot along with more harmful drugs...
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
The recent dramatic progress in grow light efficiency will not go to waste.
What is small? This is where laws and enforcement go wrong. Is small 1 lb or 1 oz? To a trafficker, 1 lb is small. This is going to lead to very uneven application of the law, a clear violation of equal protection.
If Sessions wanted to be honest about it, he needs to set a weight specification. Those that want their pot just need to keep under the limit. Even then, nothing about this will ever make people happy. One thing I do know is that potheads will be potheads regardless of the law.
Jeff Sessions has been AG for 1 year, 1 month, 1 day.
It’s good that he continues to leave the definition of “small” and “major” deliberately amorphous.
That means folks like my cousin in Sonoma County will be able to continue to make a living. He and his cohorts are strong supporters of Sessions war on pot.
They all stay inside the Sonoma County limit of 99 registered and tagged plants. So, if the DEA has the resources to drive the back roads of Sonoma County...even with helicopters...to root out these scattered and camouflaged plots, I’d be surprised.
They’ll likely go after the big retailers first.
Jeff Sessions has been AG for 1 year, 1 month, 1 day.
Hillary walks free, along with her minions. the FBI is still corrupt and partisan. Obama is getting away with his FISA abuses. California mayors are alerting illegals that ICE is coming.
and Jeff Sessions hasn’t done squat about any of it.
Fire him and get someone who will do Something
Next month Comey will begin his book tour.
I read you. (chuckling...)
Indeed, arbitrariness is a problem with selective law enforcement. The ideal solution is legislative acton. It's hard to argue against Sessions' logic on the matter that it is best to repeal bad laws rather than simply choosing to not enforce them.
So you want police handing out tickets for anyone who goes 1mph over the limit?
“California mayors are alerting illegals that ICE is coming and Jeff Sessions hasn’t done squat about any of it.”
Mr. Magoo has threatened to take them to court. If that doesn’t put the fear of G-d into them, I don’t know what will.../s
1 mph is a gateway to higher speeds. :-)
“”””Jeff Sessions has been AG for 1 year, 1 month, 1 day.””””
So??? He has already written a sternly worded letter to California. I bet next year he is gonna really kick some ass and maybe put a stamp on the letter, who knows?
Or massive Obama/Clinton corruption cases.
He doesn't want to be Arkancided
And who would want to? Waging a war on people vaping CBDs would not be practical or even possible.
Good. Local crime should not be a federal case.
If it doesn’t involve Interstate Commerce, National Defense, or Immigration in a pre-20th Century sense, the Feds should keep their noses out of it.
Now expand this to other issues.
For your interest.
In other news, the National Weather Service has announced that they won’t try to stop the rain from falling.
The real legacy of Jeff Sessions is Doug Jones!
AG Sessions can’t get a break from his critics. His statement was totally reasonable. He’s not going after people who are keeping matters to themselves. He’s investigating the out-of-control cases that are his priority because their impact affects others in a massive way.
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