Coffman rebukes Sessions on marijuana enforcement policy

Mike Coffman

BY PETER JONES
NEWS EDITOR

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, responded swiftly last week to the announcement by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions that the Justice Department would be rescinding the Obama-era policy that effectively allowed states to legalize marijuana without federal intervention.

In a Jan. 4 press announcement, Coffman urged Sessions to read the Commerce Clause in the U.S. Constitution, which limits the power of the federal government to regulate interstate and intrastate commerce.

“The decision that was made to legalize marijuana in Colorado was made by the voters of Colorado and only applies within the boundaries of our state,” Coffman wrote in his statement. “Colorado had every right to legalize marijuana and I will do everything I can to protect that right against the power of an overreaching federal government.”

Jason Crow, a Democratic-primary candidate in Coffman’s 6^th Congressional District, issued a statement urging Coffman to take his words a step further by introducing legislation to prevent Sessions from rescinding the enforcement policy.

U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, has likewise called Sessions to task for his announcement, citing the attorney general’s Senate confirmation testimony, in which Sessions said he had no intention of changing policy as it pertained voter-approved legalized marijuana in the states.

Although Colorado, California and other states have legalized marijuana at the state level, the plant is still listed as illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

During the 2016 presidential race, President Trump said he favored medicinal use of marijuana and said the recreational question should be left to individual states.