DENVER \u2014 Whether to crack down on marijuana in states where it is legal is a decision that will now rest with those states\u2019 top federal prosecutors, many of whom are deeply rooted in their communities and may be reluctant to pursue cannabis businesses or their customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he rescinded the Justice Department\u2019s previous guidance on marijuana, Attorney General Jeff Sessions left the issue to a mix of prosecutors who were appointed by President Donald Trump\u2019s administration and others who are holdovers from the Barack Obama years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Legal experts do not expect a flood of new cases, and people familiar with the job of U.S. attorney say prosecutors could decide against using already limited resources to seek criminal charges against cannabis companies that abide by state regulations or their customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are higher priorities: terrorism and opiates to start with,\u201d said Rory Little, a former prosecutor and a professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law. \u201cYou also have to draw the jury pool from the local people, who appear to generally support the state policy. You\u2019re not going to waste your resources on cases you can\u2019t win or cases your community is against.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until Sessions\u2019 announcement on Thursday, federal prosecutors followed guidelines laid out in the so-called Cole memo, which was issued by the Justice Department during the Obama administration. The memo discouraged prosecutors from going after people participating in the marijuana trade in states where recreational marijuana is legal, except in cases with aggravating factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sessions revoked that document and others, citing the fact that pot remains illegal under federal law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Federal prosecutors are not elected, but they often have long histories working in their districts. They are surrounded by attorneys who have spent their careers arguing federal cases before judges who can make their displeasure with a U.S. attorney known in sentencing decisions and in the scheduling of cases. That environment will not change because of a memo from the attorney general, Little said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the change will undoubtedly create some confusion and an uneven landscape, said John Walsh, the former U.S. attorney for Colorado appointed by Obama who left the office in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prosecutors in Western states wanted guidance from the Justice Department when the likelihood of state marijuana legalization became clear in 2010 and 2011. They hoped to avoid a patchwork of prosecution strategies, Walsh said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen the policy is so broad and uncertain that it\u2019s left case by case to different decision makers, it creates confusion and uncertainty that can be unjust,\u201d Walsh said. \u201cThis is a uniquely difficult position to put the U.S. attorneys in. You could easily wind up with a very different approach in different areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. attorneys around the country responded cautiously to Sessions\u2019 announcement. Some issued written statements suggesting the change would not dramatically alter their approach to marijuana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Colorado, U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer said his office will continue to focus on \u201cidentifying and prosecuting those who create the greatest safety threats to our communities around the state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Troyer took over the office on an acting basis when Walsh, the Obama appointee, left. In November, Sessions named him the interim U.S. attorney. Trump could nominate a replacement at any time or decide to keep Troyer, a career prosecutor and attorney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new U.S. attorney in Massachusetts, Andrew Lelling, a Trump appointee who was confirmed by the Senate in mid-December, called marijuana \u201ca dangerous drug\u201d in his statement on Sessions\u2019 action. But he also said his office will focus on \u201cbulk cultivation and trafficking cases, and those who use the federal banking system illegally\u201d while considering its available resources, the seriousness of each crime and its effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In California\u2019s Eastern District, newly sworn-in U.S. Attorney McGregor \u201cGreg\u201d Scott grew up in Humboldt County, deep in California\u2019s famed \u201cEmerald Triangle\u201d marijuana-growing region. He later became a career state and federal prosecutor who has spoken favorably of a previous federal marijuana crackdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scott\u2019s spokeswoman, Lauren Horwood, said he declined to comment on the most recent federal move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana has long been and remains a violation of federal law for all purposes,\u201d she later said in a statement. \u201cWe will evaluate violations of those laws in accordance with our district\u2019s federal law enforcement priorities and resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Vicente, a Denver attorney who co-wrote Colorado\u2019s 2012 constitutional amendment legalizing recreation marijuana, said the industry will closely examine the background of any new U.S. attorney nominees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf this is in any way accompanied by a changing of the guard through the appointment of very conservative, anti-marijuana candidates, that\u2019s a red flag,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walsh, the former U.S. attorney for Colorado, said sitting and incoming top federal prosecutors in pot-friendly states should rely on their staffs, who have years of experience investigating cases, to put marijuana in context with other priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose people make decisions about which cases they can win and which cases are crucial,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
___<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thompson reported from Sacramento, California. Associated Press Writer Bob Salsberg in Boston contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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