 The U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has issued a response to a question asked by a Senator regarding marijuana regulation.
The question was “does the Justice Department’s plan to update and reissue the Cole and Wilkinson memos, " which had offered guidance for federal prosecutors in states where marijuana had been legalized. The Attorney General did not directly answer the question. First he reiterated his personal point of view, saying, “enforcement resources are not put to their best use prosecuting nonviolent, low-level marijuana offenses, even in jurisdictions where marijuana use remains illegal.” He then added, “With respect to those jurisdictions where marijuana use and sales are lawfully regulated, there is even greater reason to conserve prosecutorial resources so that we can focus our attention on violent crimes and other crimes that cause societal harm and endanger our communities." Garland’s words here are his personal perspective that he does not think they should be prosecuted, but it’s not actually government guidance. As for an official stance by the Department of Justice, Garland went on to write, “the Department is examining a range of issues that relate to marijuana and its production, sale, and use, and we intend to address these issues in the days ahead.” So, all he’s really saying here is that they’re working on it. There is no actual guidance or concrete indication of when that could come. And while it’s frustrating to not get a clear answer, it’s good to know they are planning to address the issue soon. Comments are closed.
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