Jeff Sessions rolls back feds' policy on legal weed, could slow plans for N.J.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday struck down an Obama-era policy that has allowed legal marijuana to prosper in several states across the country -- and which enabled New Jersey to consider such a move for this year.

Sessions rescinded the so-called Cole memo, from 2013, which basically allowed states that have legalized marijuana to enforce their own laws while the Department of Justice focused its resources on keeping weed out of the hands of minors and profit away from the drug cartels.

The new directive, which can be found here, calls the Cole memo "unnecessary" and directs federal prosecutors to consider marijuana cases as they would any other criminal case, but to use discretion based on available resources.

This move will likely add more confusion in the eight states where weed has been legalized. It comes just three days after California's legal pot market officially opened. New Hampshire and Vermont are also currently considering pot legalization.

In the memo, Sessions repeated the federal government's stance that "marijuana is a dangerous drug" and that "marijuana activity is a serious crime."

Despite the wave of legalization, which began with Colorado in 2014, cannabis remains illegal on the federal level. The Cole memo allowed states that legalized to operate a marijuana market without fear that the feds would crack down on activity considered legal in the state.

The policy change will also affect states that are considering legalization, including New Jersey. A bill to legalize pot has been sitting in the state Legislature since May and incoming Gov. Phil Murphy supports legalization.

New Jersey lawmakers are expected to hold the marijuana legalization debate in the coming months, but Sessions' policy change could shape that debate.

"It will certainly have an impact on the debate," said Scott Rudder, president of the NJ Cannabusiness Association, adding that he expects attorneys general in states that have legalized marijuana to try and block Sessions' move.

State Sen. Joe Pennacchio said the DOJ policy change adds to a long list of questions he has about marijuana legalization. He has previously called for a more measured approach to legalization in New Jersey and said that Thursday's developments should cause lawmakers to slow down.

There's a whole host of (issues). Don't jump into this," Pennachio said on Thursday. "If you're a person of reason, it should give you pause."

Sessions has long been an opponent of marijuana legalization and has likened pot to drugs like heroin.


The Justice Department did not return calls seeking comment on this story.

Several United States senators and congresspeople have admonished Sessions for his policy change, including Sen. Cory Booker from New Jersey. He called the move "fiscally wasteful, morally bankrupt," and "unjust" in a tweet on Thursday.

Sessions' directive gives federal prosecutors the power to enforce federal marijuana laws. The attorney general just named Craig Carpenito as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey.

Carpenito represented outgoing Gov. Chris Christie in matters related to the "Bridgegate" lane-closure scandal. The New Jersey office of the U.S. attorney referred calls related to the marijuana policy change to the DOJ, so it's unclear how Carpenito would aim to enforce cannabis laws.

Bill Caruso, an attorney with New Jersey-based Archer law firm who also advocates for pot legalization, said it's too early to tell what impact the policy change will have on cannabis legalization in the state.

"This could present a significant challenge or it may be business as usual, we just don't know," Caruso said. "It depends a lot on what the U.S. attorney does."

Others in the marijuana industry say they don't think this change will mark a divergence from the enforcement that's happened in the last several years.

"It's up to federal prosecutors to stick their necks out there to take up a case and set precedent," said Brian Staffa, chief operator of BSC Group, a cannabis management firm. "I don't see many prosecutors willing to go out on such a shaky limb to be the first to file federal drug charges on a state-licensed, legal cannabis company."

This story has been updated with the official statement from Jeff Sessions.

