Colorado senator reveals Trump’s take on cannabis legalization

Emma Spears - thegrowthop.com Posted 5 years ago
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New information revealed by Republican Senator Cory Gardner has provided insight into the President’s take on cannabis on a recent Cannabis Economy podcast earlier this month.

 

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President Trump expressed his displeasure with then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions when the latter revoked guidance from the Justice Department on priorities regarding federal cannabis enforcement policy, according to Gardner.

After a meeting in the Oval office, Gardner says he spoke privately to Trump to explain his disapproval of the Cole Memo, a document from the Obama administration.

Before Gardner could express his full opposition, Trump interrupted him, allegedly saying that ‘[Sessions] needs to stop this.”

“I don’t like this, this isn’t something I support,” said the President, adding that “we need to undo this,” but it was too late for the decision to be reversed.

“It was very clear to me at that point that there was a disagreement between the president and the attorney general on this,” Gardner explained.

“At that point I realized that there was an ally in the president on this.”

Gardner warned the president that states such as Colorado, Gardner’s home state and one of the first to legalise cannabis, would devolve into chaos if Sessions ensured the Justice Department followed through with the measures. But Gardner states that Trump told him that “we’re not going to do that. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“That was the commitment from the president not only on showing that he’s going to disagree with Jeff Sessions, but actually saying, ‘don’t worry about what he’s done because it won’t impact Colorado,’” Garnder said, “and then moving forward down for a solution.”

Gardner says that Trump also confirmed his support for a bipartisan bill from Gardner and Democrat Elizabeth Warren to protect state-legal cannabis businesses from prosecution under the Controlled SubstancesActt.

“OK, you’ve got my commitment to support the bill, you’ve got my commitment to support a solution on this,” Trump is alleged to have told Gardner.

Sessions resigned last autumn at the president’s behest and was replaced by William Barr, who has promised repeatedly not to weaponize the Justice Department against cannabis businesses that are legal at the state level.

 

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