On Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded several memos from the Obama administration that had allowed more deference to states regarding marijuana policy. The memos had basically created a hands-off attitude from the federal government but their end means individual prosecutors will have the power to decide whether or not to prosecute marijuana related activity.
Some advocates worried that Sessions would explicitly direct more prosecutions or efforts to bring down cannabis cultivation or usage but he stopped short of that and declared it a “return to the rule of law.” “It is the mission of the Department of Justice to enforce the laws of the United States, and the previous issuance of guidance undermines the rule of law and the ability of our local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement partners to carry out this mission,” said Sessions.
“Therefore, today’s memo on federal marijuana enforcement simply directs all U.S. Attorneys to use previously established prosecutorial principles that provide them all the necessary tools to disrupt criminal organizations, tackle the growing drug crisis, and thwart violent crime across our country.”
Currently, eight states allow some level of recreational marijuana use and another 22 states have broadly legalized medical marijuana. Rep. Allen Peake (R- Macon) has been on a crusade the past few years to see Georgia become the 23rd. Peake’s focus is solely medical and has seen some limited success but would like to see wider availability for patients and in particular in-state cultivation (this would allow patients to not break federal law carrying it across state lines which is currently the de facto policy). He hopes 2018 can be the year.
“We have introduced HB 645 which would grant 2 licenses to grow, process and distribute medical cannabis oil in Georgia, and SR 36 which would put the issue on the ballot and allow voters to decide if we should allow growing of marijuana for medicinal purposes only in Georgia.”
Both bills fall under the Judiciary Non-Civil Committee’s purview, chaired by Rep. Rich Golick (R- 40 Smyrna), and neither made it out of committee for a vote last year after being read on the House floor. One of Peake’s co-sponsors on the bill, Rep. Micah Gravely (R- 67 Douglasville), is the secretary of the committee in question and is a good ally for possible passage.
HB 645 in particular has some other powerful names in that co-sponsor slot – Rep. Tom McCall (R- 33 Elberton), chairman of the Agricultural committee, Rep. Terry England (R- 116 Auburn), chairman of the Appropriations committee, and Rep. Alan Powell (R- 32 Hartwell), chairman of Public Safety and Homeland Security – Powell is also a sponsor HR 36. Rep. Ron Stephens (R- 164 Savannah) is chairman of Economic Development and Tourism and also a sponsor of HR 36. All that is to say that this is not some back-bencher effort with no hope of passage.
Session’s efforts may have just made that more difficult. Representatives may be uneasy with changing Georgia law while there is still so much uncertainty around the issue.
“The actions by AG Sessions only hurt the grandfather with Alzheimer’s, the soccer mom with breast cancer, the college student with Crohn’s disease, the child who suffers from seizures. The reality is that congress just needs to change the damn law, so that our most vulnerable citizens don’t have to worry anymore about access to medical cannabis,” said Peake.
