Smart Approaches to Marijuana would welcome federal enforcement of cannabis laws

By Polly Washburn, The Cannabist Staff

Jeff Sessions has more reading about marijuana regs on his desk.

Last week, governors from Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, the first four states to legalize recreational marijuana, each sent letters to the attorney general defending their respective regulatory regimes, designed to uphold the Cole Memo. That Obama-era memo outlined law enforcement and financial oversight priorities for states that have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use.

On the fourth anniversary of the memo, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), a non-profit group opposed to marijuana legalization, announced it had sent a report to Sessions and other lawmakers detailing how those states have failed to live up to the responsibilities it laid out.

Based on their report, “The Cole Memo: 4 Years Later,” SAM recommends that Sessions “take measured action to successfully protect public health and safety. Limited Federal resources should be used to target the big players in the…