ASA in the News

By Kellie Meyer for GrayDC

“Many providers of cannabis products grow for both medical and recreational so it would be very difficult to for the DOJ to crack down without affecting patients," - Beth Collins

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) -- “I believe what happened today was a trampling of Colorado’s rights," Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) said.

The Republican Colorado Senator is firing back at Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Sessions released this memo Thursday to all United States Attorneys. He announced he was leaving it up to them to decide whether to enforce the federal marijuana law.

Gardner believes this choice should be left up to voters, something he thought both Trump and Sessions agreed with him on.

"What changed their minds?"

For Colorado, where voters have decided both medical and recreational pot should be legal, the future is uncertain.

Beth Collins moved there so her daughter could legally use medical cannabis to treat her epileptic seizures. While she said medical marijuana may still be protected in the state she believes Sessions’ move could still hurt the industry that helped save her daughter.

“Many providers of cannabis products grow for both medical and recreational so it would be very difficult to for the DOJ to crack down without affecting patients," Collins, Americans for Safe Access.

Luke Niferatos moved from Denver to work for Smart Approaches to Marijuana. He said legalization was affecting people's safety and younger children. Niferatos said Sessions' decision was the right one for his state.

“To Senator Cory Gardner I would just ask him to put the interests of families and children first and look at this big industry that is just muscling in and causing a public health disaster," Niferatos added.

Gardner plans to do anything he can to stop Sessions move, that includes holding up the senate vote on pending Justice Department nominees.

But Congress can push back on the move by passing their own measure to end the conflict between state and federal law.