President Trump Will Not Meddle with State Cannabis Programs, Sen. Cory Gardner Says

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap]ccording to a press release published today, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner said he received a phone call from President Donald Trump himself on April 11, saying he will not interfere with state-legal cannabis.

“Since the campaign, President Trump has consistently supported states’ rights to decide for themselves how best to approach marijuana,” Gardner stated. “Late Wednesday, I received a commitment from the President that the Department of Justice’s rescission of the Cole memo will not impact Colorado’s legal marijuana industry. Furthermore, President Trump has assured me that he will support a federalism-based legislative solution to fix this states’ rights issue once and for all.” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed.

According to The Washington Post, which first broke the news, President Trump responded over a “months-long standoff” between Gardner and Trump. The standoff was caused by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ and the Justice Department’s decision to rescind the Cole Memo, which protected states from federal crackdowns on cannabis businesses.

Last January, Gardner said he would block each and every one of the Justice Department’s nominees, citing his reason as the Cole Memo rescission. But after receiving confirmation from Trump to lay off of Colorado and other states with legal cannabis, Gardner is now negotiating. “Because of these commitments,” Gardner added, “I have informed the Administration that I will be lifting my remaining holds on Department of Justice nominees. My colleagues and I are continuing to work diligently on a bipartisan legislative solution that can pass Congress and head to the President’s desk to deliver on his campaign position.”

The news is quite astonishing, considering the doom and gloom that surrounded the cannabis industry after learning of Attorney General Jeff Session’s intentions to possibly crack down on legal cannabis.

To add to the good news, Gardner said “Furthermore, President Trump has assured me that he will support a federalism-based legislative solution to fix this states’ rights issue once and for all. Because of these commitments, I have informed the Administration that I will be lifting my remaining holds on Department of Justice nominees.”