Will Legal Marijuana States Get Prosecuted Under Trump? Federal Weed Laws Could Be Enforced

Along with newly sworn in President Donald Trump's agendas for the country, he’ll be bringing in a whole new administration to help him carry out his plans. Trump has been very vocal about hitting the ground running on legislation and acts regarding immigration policy, a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and creating a replacement for Obamacare.

But from the sound of it, his cabinet picks also weren’t in a rush to change marijuana laws that are already in place in California, Colorado, Washington, D.C. or the other 26 states that have legalized use of the plant in some form. Not to mention, as of Thursday only two of Trump’s cabinet picks – John F. Kelly as head of the Department of Homeland Security and Gen. James N. Mattis as defense secretary – have reportedly been approved by congressional committees. That could have some marijuana advocates feeling a little more hopeful federal laws won’t be enforced against states that have legalized marijuana or the people who are now able to consume the plant under approved state legislature.

Although the marijuana has already become a $6 billion dollar industry, it is still an illegal business under federal law.

Trump said during his campaign that he planned to keep weed laws at the state level, but many advocates have become worried that his attorney general pick, Republican Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, and other cabinet members could convince him to implement federal law and potentially prosecute states with legal cannabis.

Sessions, who has yet to be confirmed for the role of attorney general, has been notoriously anti-marijuana. But during his Jan. 11 concession meeting, the senator was fairly vague regarding his plans for marijuana, if he is approved for the position. However, he did state that he wouldn’t “commit to never enforcing federal law,” adding that the conflicting federal and state marijuana laws are “a problem of resources for the federal government.”

“I think one obvious concern is that the United States Congress has made the possession of marijuana in every state and distribution of it an illegal act,” Sessions said. “If that something is not desired any longer, Congress should pass the law to change the rule. It’s not so much the attorney general’s job to decide what laws to enforce. We should do our job and enforce laws effectively as we’re able.”