Jeff Sessions Called Marijuana ‘Slightly Less Awful’ Than Heroin
Donald Trump’s Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, led by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, has reportedly recommended further studies into marijuana rather than a crackdown.
Last month, reports surfaced that the administration was expected to announce a crackdown, possibly even linking marijuana usage to violent crimes. It was a stance that echoed Sessions’ own, staunch views on marijuana usage – the attorney general previously having called the plant a life-wrecking dependency “only slightly less awful†than heroin.
Now, the Associated Press reports, the prosecutors and federal law enforcement officials that make up the federal task force have “come up with no new policy recommendations to advance the attorney general’s aggressively anti-marijuana views.â€
The AP received portions of a report “not slated to be released publicly†confirming the information, which encouraged “officials to keep studying whether to change or rescind the Obama administration’s more hands-off approach to enforcement – a stance that has allowed the nation’s experiment with legal pot to flourish.â€
Don Murphy, the director of conservative outreach at the Marijuana Policy Project, hailed the reports in a statement. “The task force’s recommendations reflect the fact that the Dept. of Justice has more important priorities than harassing legitimate, taxpaying businesses,†he said.
“In states that have approved marijuana for medical or adult use,†Murphy continued, “these businesses are creating jobs, generating revenue, protecting consumers, and making their communities safer.â€
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced legislation this week to eliminate marijuana’s status as a Schedule 1 drug, decriminalizing it at the federal level.
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Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license
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