Legal Marijuana: Jeff Sessions Says There's 'Real Violence' Surrounding Cannabis Industry

Despite the fact that more than half of voters across the U.S. are in support of recreational marijuana laws, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has no intentions to take it easy on states that are not enforcing federal laws. The former Alabama Senator said during a meeting at the Justice Department Monday that he would try to enforce “responsible policies” regarding the legal marijuana programs offered in 28 states and the District of Columbia, but he didn’t believe allowing people to consume marijuana freely would make America “a better place.”

“Most states have some limits on it and, already, people are violating those limits,” Sessions said. “We’re going to look at it.

Not only did Sessions reportedly claim smoking marijuana an “unhealthy practice” but he also pointed out that the current levels of marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient, Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC as it’s commonly called, are much higher than what they used to be back in the day.

Sessions also said that the department is “seeing real violence” surrounding the legal sale of marijuana.

“Experts are telling me there’s more violence around marijuana than one would think and there’s big money involved,” he said, noting that the legal sale of the plant was already creating conflict between states with recreational laws and states that have no adopted adult-use legislation. Sessions referenced Nebraska’s lawsuit against Colorado after law enforcement discovered marijuana was being transported between state lines following the legalization of commercial pot production in 2014.

Sessions didn’t necessarily explain how the department planned to crackdown on legal states’ marijuana policies, but his comments seem to be in line with Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s recent claim that there would be “greater enforcement” of federal marijuana laws under President Donald Trump’s administration.

“I am definitely not a fan of expanded use of marijuana,” he said. “But states, they can pass the laws they choose. I would just say, it does remain a violation of federal law to distribute marijuana throughout any place in the United States, whether a state legalizes it or not.”