Why Jeff Sessions as Attorney General is Bad for Cannabis

Photo Credit: Rob Crandall / shutterstock.com

President-Elect Trump announced his pick for Attorney General—and it’s horrible for cannabis businesses. Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions has strong opinions about the dangers of cannabis, and he could be our  next Attorney General.

Jeff Sessions has cultivated a name for himself as a militant prohibitionist. Alabama is ranked by Gallup as being the second most conservative state in the union. “You have to have leadership from Washington. You can’t have the President of the United States of America talking about marijuana … Sessions said. “You are sending a message to young people that there is no danger in this process. It is false that marijuana use doesn’t lead people to more drug use. It is already causing a disturbance in the states that have made it legal.”

The announcement has members of NORML reeling. According to NORML, Sessions joked about the Ku Klux Klan, saying he thought they were “okay, until he learned that they smoked marijuana.”

Nothing is set in stone and prohibitionists have been busy working to overturn legalization in Maine and Massachusetts. Sessions, as Attorney General, could block the states’ right to core provisions like cultivation.

“It was the prevention movement that really was so positive, and it led to this decline,” Sessions contended. “The creating of knowledge that this drug is dangerous, it cannot be played with, it is not funny, it’s not something to laugh about, and trying to send that message with clarity, that good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

Aaron Herzberg, Partner & General Counsel at CalCann Holdings shared his opinion on Sessions in a press release. “Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions is the worst pick that Trump could have made for Attorney General as it comes to marijuana issues, and this selection bodes very poorly for the Trump administration to adopt a marijuana-friendly policy,” Herzberg stated. “It appears that he is intent on rolling back policy to the 1980s Nancy Reagan’s ‘just say no on drugs’ days. He has displayed open hostility to efforts to legalize marijuana. He has been extremely hostile to efforts to legalize both medical and adult use marijuana.” Herzberg continued to explain that selecting Sessions as Attorney General put medical cannabis laws in 28 states and recreational cannabis laws in eight states in real jeopardy.

Now’s the time to seize the opportunity to fight back against someone who will likely obstruct every cannabis issue that comes his way. One thing you can do is send a message to president-elect Trump asking to reconsider appointing Jeff Sessions for Attorney General. You can also donate to help raise $4,200 for an emergency response fund.