 The U.S. attorney general, Merrick Garland, reiterated his belief that he believes it is “not an efficient use” of federal resources to go after people for possessing marijuana.
Garland had made similar statements when he was appointed attorney general. This past week Garland was speaking at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, when Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) asked if he intended reinstate Obama-era guidance on not interfering with state cannabis programs, which Trump had rescinded. Garland replied, “I laid this out in my confirmation hearing, and my view hasn’t really changed since then. The Justice Department has almost never prosecuted use of marijuana, and it’s not going to.” He added that Marijuana prosecutions are “not an efficient use of the resources given the opioid and methamphetamine epidemic that we have.” Garland’s statement came on the same day that President Joe Biden made his clemency action which pardoned nine marijuana cases. Earlier this month, a group of legislatures filed a bill that would Attorney General Garland to create a commission that would make recommendations on a regulatory system for marijuana. The plan is to have that commission set up a system that models what’s currently in place for alcohol. That bill is presented by Republican Representative Dave Joyce of Ohio, Democratic Representative Hakeem Jefffries of New York, and Republican Representative Brian Mast of florida. The bill is called the PREPARE Act, which stands for Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment. That bill is currently before Senate review committees in Congress. Comments are closed.
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