GOP senator says Sessions broke pledge to him on marijuana policy

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill



BY MAX GREENWOOD - 01/04/18 10:39 AM EST

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) threatened on Thursday to start holding up the confirmation process for White House Justice Department nominees unless Attorney General Jeff Sessions reverses a decision to roll back a policy allowing legalized recreational use of marijuana in some states.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Sessions moved on Thursday to roll back the so-called Cole memo, written by former U.S. Attorney General James Cole, which effectively gave states that chose to legalize marijuana the leeway to do so. So far, six states have legalized recreational use of the substance, though it remains federally prohibited.

Gardner's home state, Colorado, was among the first states to legalize recreational marijuana use in 2012.

Sessions has been a longtime opponent of marijuana legalization. But in a 2016 interview with 9News in Denver, then-candidate Donald Trump said that he would not support using federal power to crack down on marijuana legalization, adding that the issue should be left to the states.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/367410-senator-says-sessions-broke-pledge-to-him-on-marijuana-policy

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Dem lawmaker rips marijuana policy change: Sessions 'wants to take America back to the 1920s'

BY BRETT SAMUELS - 01/04/18 10:48 AM EST

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) on Thursday ripped Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s decision to roll back an Obama-era policy that allowed states to legalize marijuana, likening it to Prohibition.

Link to tweet

Sessions earlier Thursday moved to rescind the so-called Cole memo, which ordered U.S. attorneys in states where marijuana has been legalized to deprioritize prosecution of marijuana-related cases.

Sessions, a vocal critic of marijuana legalization, has hinted for months that he would move to crack down on the growing cannabis market.

It was not immediately clear when Sessions will formally revoke the agreement, authored in 2013 by then-Deputy Attorney General James Cole.

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/367412-dem-lawmaker-rips-marijuana-policy-change-sessions-wants-to-take-america-back

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Bernie Sanders: Marijuana isn't heroin

BY MAX GREENWOOD - 01/04/18 11:41 AM EST

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) doubled down on his opposition to enforcing federal marijuana laws on Thursday, noting that the substance is less dangerous than heroin and that states should move toward decriminalizing it.

Sanders called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reverse an expected decision rolling back an Obama-era policy giving states leeway to legalize recreational marijuana use.

"Marijuana is not the same as heroin. No one who has seriously studied the issue believes that marijuana should be classified as a Schedule 1 drug beside killer drugs like heroin," Sanders said in a statement.

"Quite the contrary. We should allow states the right to move toward the decriminalization of marijuana, not reverse the progress that has been made in recent years," he added.

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/367422-bernie-sanders-marijuana-isnt-heroin

[lapfog_1]

1. I fully expect Sessions to privately reverse the enforcement policy for Colorado and

Nevada... but to go ahead and sic the DEA on pot growers and pot shops in California.

This is all about California.

[samnsara]

17. oh and nevada gets to keep their legal prostitution?

[lapfog_1]

21. Unlike pot, AFAIK there is no federal law against prostitution

Trafficking or interstate transportation... yes, but not prostitution.

Could be wrong about that.

[robbob]

33. I think the point is

As much as we hear is a fundamental evangelist types rail against the evils of pot, I don’t think I have ever heard one of them speak out against the legalized prostitution in Nevada. I’ve often wondered why no Republican preacher type has ever brought it up, but of course no need to wonder, they are all a bunch of hypocrites.

[CrispyQ]

2. Gardner's up for reelection in 2020 & he knows a ton of repubs like weed.

[PatSeg]

4. Yep

Not just for hippies anymore! Weed knows no politics.

[mountain grammy]

31. Yes, first time he's defended anything for his constituents..

He hides. But now he suddenly found his voice.. My bet, he'll cave. Big pharma will give him a big wad of cash.

[Weed Man]

34. Hes still on the outs

Coloradans do not appreciate Gardner and while he is right on the agreement, he is still getting a boot in 2020.

[Libloom]

3. Could this be planned so the dems start supporting

Firing Sessions to make way for an AG that'll fire Mueller?

[maxsolomon]

6. Its planned as part of the New Year's Gish Gallop.

Throw out so many infuriating policies that the real outrage gets hidden in the noise.

[Vilis Veritas]

11. This +1000000

[briv1016]

7. That's what I was saying before. Remember, Comey was fired for being "unfair" to Hillary.

[samnsara]

18. no im sure not..this is a bi partisan thing. The economy of a lot of states..

..are at stake..a lot of these states have GOPs up for re election.

[maxsolomon]

5. Wait. Dems WEREN'T HOLDING UP DOJ NOMINEES?

why the fuck not? the GOP did it to Obama at every opportunity.

Sessions is picking a fight that charges up his base and sticks it to Libs. Even if they do nothing, it makes for great Stigginit.

Elections have consequences - fighting this fight again will be a particularly tiresome one.

[herding cats]

8. The Republicans won back the Senate in 2014

That’s how they started blocking the judicial nominees. We currently have a minority in the Senate which means we’re outta luck until we gain at least a 51 seat majority, since the Republicans also hold the presidency and the VP is the tie breaking vote.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Probably Didn't Matter, Max

They could fight it, but it would get through committee, then go the floor and pass by a narrow margin.

Getting a few R's to withhold a yes vote makes all the difference.

[bluestarone]

32. but it would be nice to have these repubs on record

how they voted. for 2018 and 2020 plus i feel fight them every step WIN OR LOSE we SLOW THE PROCESS(ON EVERY BILL) Every minute we can stall i say DO IT!!

[BumRushDaShow]

13. They have been as much as they are able

for ALL the nominees.... but if you have a GOP member (the majority party) do it, then you really don't get the unanimous consent confirmations for even non-controversial picks.

See this -https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141949178

GOP senators want to cut down the amount of debate time needed to confirm hundreds of the president’s picks, arguing Democrats are using the Senate’s rulebook to stonewall and slow-walk nominees and the GOP agenda.

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/366260-senate-gop-seeks-to-change-rules-for-trump-picks

[Igel]

20. They were.

But it's a state-by-state, senator-by-senator kind of thing.

I guess we should have a minority leader who imposes uniformity on all our senators so that they really have to tow the line and obey. (??)

The DOJ nominees are things like attorneys general, appointed by an administration with the agreement of the state senators and consent of the Senate. Remember how Sessions just made something like 17 interim appointments? We complained that he made them, but he made them either because the nominations were held up or because Trump hadn't made any. Cause. Effect.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. The GOP has yelled "States Rights" forever... unless.... OBAMA

[herding cats]

12. i guess Sessions forgot legalizing pot is a bipartisan thing?

This battle will be waged by the R’s in vulnerable seats.

[underpants]

14. Give Susan Collins a call

maybe you two can figure out things like this happen

[gay texan]

15. Cory, you're a bigger idiot than what I thought.

You trusted Sessions. Dumbass.....

[Algernon Moncrieff]

16. My suspicion is that California legalization drove this

Politically, this is a mistake. The American people (including non-users) have signaled clearly that the war on pot is not worth fighting.

[More_Cowbell]

19. I think Sessions agreed not to resign as part of a deal with Mueller

But there's no agreement that he can't be FIRED, so Trump can appoint someone to fire Mueller.

[bucolic_frolic]

22. This will keep the price UP and PROFITS in the hands of drug dealers

Wonder why they are supporting this policy?

Oh.

[Duppers]

23. I'm loving all this infighting.

[judy]

24. Our Evil Goblin will be so sad when...

...the Klan turns on him because he is suppressing their marijuana use!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

25. Please Bogart that nominee, my friend. Don't pass him over for a vote by the full Senate. NT

[lark]

26. Gardner's approach might be effective.

Those 17 temporary attorneys will have their mandate expire and if Gardner blocks them all, the rw takeover is also blocked. I like Sandrs statement, but it will do nothing to deter Sessions. He only reacts to a real threat and ignores all Dems.

[cannabis_flower]

27. You know ...

Congress could stop him. If all the congressman from all the legal recreational and medical marijuana states and also Dems and sympathetic Republicans in other states just finally went ahead and voted to remove it from the controlled substances act, Jeff Sessions wouldn't be able to do a damn thing!

[Firebrand Gary]

28. Colorado Senator Cory Gardner is a LIAR!

The people of Colorado should remove every single Republican from elected office. No real American can justify what this administration is doing; our nation is being set back by entire generations-and with the advancement of the modern world, we will likely never recover.

Cory Gardner should resign immediately! Resign, resign, resign, resign!

[BillyBobBrilliant]

29. Dumber than Dumb!

Turns out more than half of the states have some kind of legalization, from CBD to full blown recreational use.About 1/3 or more of them have senators up for re-election. Pot sales taxes are a windfall for states across the nation.

[AllyCat]

30. Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them

By Senator Al Franken

[notdarkyet]

35. Is lying under oath to Congress a federal crime? If so we should enforce all

“Federal Laws’ and sessions should be locked up. How can a criminal enforce laws on others. Hate this tiny cretin.

[bluescribbler]

36. "Less dangerous than heroin"?

Sorry Sen. Sanders, but you've got it wrong. Marijuana is less dangerous than whiskey, wine. beer and tobacco, all of which are legal to sell, posses and consume.

[mpcamb]

37. Stay with tobacco. Those red states love that nicotine.

[djacq]

38. Sen. Gardners term is up in 2020

Having been a Colorado resident, every tax paying individual in that state is raking in the revenue coming from the marijuana industry. Yes... Every tax paying right wing republican Colorodian is receiving a bonus in their state tax refund.

If Sessions goes forward... Gardner can kiss his political career goodbye come 2020.