A decision by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to allow for a crackdown on the recreational marijuana industry should motivate Congress to take action. Lawmakers must recognize that public sentiment, economics, and common sense call for national legalization of the drug.
Sessions’ announcement Thursday will allow U.S. attorneys, the top law-enforcement officers in each federal jurisdiction, to aggressively enforce laws that prohibit marijuana. This overturns an Obama-era policy that let marijuana businesses operate without obstruction from the federal government in states where voters supported legalization. That policy called for states to take reasonable measures for preventing teenagers from using marijuana and preventing transfer of the drug across state lines.
Washington is one of eight states that have approved recreational use for people 21 and older; 29 states have approved medical marijuana. Gov. Jay Inslee quickly indicated that marijuana operations would continue in Washington and that state officials are considering a court challenge to the new policy.
For now, that provides only a modicum of assurance for marijuana businesses. As one Vancouver business owner told The Columbian, “I’m telling my staff we’re going to be calm, take this one day at a time.” Yet the Trump administration’s decision has generated consternation in many states, with concerns that federal agents could conduct raids on vendors, growers, or even users.
Sessions’ argument in favor of changing the policy is that marijuana remains illegal under federal law. “It is the mission of the Department of Justice to enforce the laws of the United States,” he said, adding that a policy protecting marijuana operations “undermines the rule of law.” In the end, eliminating that conundrum will require Congress to intervene.
Public opinion of marijuana has shifted sharply in recent years. A Gallup poll in October found a record high of 64 percent of Americans say they support legalization, and other polls have found similar results. Part of the reason for this shift is recognition that the prohibition upon marijuana has been a costly and ineffective absurdity.
Supporting legalization does not necessarily mean that one believes people should use marijuana; it might reflect a belief that adults should have the right to do so because the costs of prohibition outweigh the societal benefits. It took only 13 years for Americans to come to their senses about a prohibition upon alcohol, a fact that should serve as a guide to the current debate over marijuana. A federal crackdown upon marijuana businesses would not prevent use of the drug; it would simply move the industry back into the shadows of the black market while violating the notion of states’ rights that Sessions holds dear when it suits his purposes.
For states that have approved legalization, the issue has a large economic impact. In Washington, marijuana sales for fiscal year 2017 exceeded $1.3 billion, resulting in about $300 million in taxes. The industry has led to the creation of numerous thriving small businesses while employing about 6,000 full-time workers.
Meanwhile, the idea of leaving the issue up to local U.S. attorneys makes it more convoluted. That could lead to uneven enforcement from state to state and a roller coaster of policy depending upon the local attorney.
In short, Sessions’ decision is a failure on multiple levels. Congress should act quickly to allow states to follow the will of voters.
