Sessions seeks to strike down Obama-era policy of tolerating state marijuana legalization

Jeff Sessions isn’t keeping under the radar.

The Attorney General on Thursday is set to rescind three Obama-era Justice Department memos that implemented a policy of non-interference with state laws that legalize marijuana.

FILE - In this April 28, 2017 file photo, Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks in Central Islip, N.Y. Justice Department officials have been weighing new guidance that would encourage prosecutors to charge suspects with the most serious offenses they can prove, a departure from Obama-era policies that aimed to reduce the federal prison population and reshape the criminal justice system. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File) — (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File).

Two individuals with knowledge of the decision told the AP that Sessions will let prosecutors choose how aggressively to enforce federal marijuana law.

The announcement will come mere days after the commercial sale of marijuana became legal in California, based on a measure approved by voters in November 2016.

In 2013, the Obama administration established priorities for federal prosecutors working in states where the drug is legal.

Known as the “Cole memo” for then-Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, the policy instructed Justice Department officials to take a hands-off approach to marijuana as long as it didn’t affect other priorities, such as efforts against cartels.

Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, told federal prosecutors to avoid pursuing long sentences for low-level offenders. Sessions has reversed course, ordering prosecutors to seek the most serious charges against suspects in most cases.

FILE - In this March 4, 2015, file photo, then-Attorney General Eric Holder speaks at the Justice Department in Washington. Holder says Edward Snowden performed a "public service" in stoking a national debate about secret domestic surveillance programs, but that he should still return to the U.S. to stand trial. Holder spoke with CNN political commentator David Axelrod in a podcast released May 30, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) — Former Attorney General Eric Holder. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster).

Sessions and local law enforcement have argued that marijuana legalization allows drug traffickers to hide in plain sight and leads to the drug’s illegal shipping across state lines.

It’s not known whether Sessions will revert to policies that existed prior to the Cole memo or will replace it with new guidelines.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, Friday, Dec. 15, 2017, about efforts to reduce violent crime. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) — (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster).

The expected change is prompting uncertainty in states where marijuana use is legal.

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