Soon after the shocking news broke that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rescinding the Obama-era policies regarding states’ ability to legalize cannabis, politicians, pundits and even God had a few things to say about it on Twitter. Here are just a few comments:
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee
Make no mistake: As we have told the Department of Justice ever since I-502 was passed in 2012, we will vigorously defend our state’s laws against undue federal infringement. https://t.co/R3jJrncN9X pic.twitter.com/uM48hVH26q
— Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) January 4, 2018
Utah Sen. Orrin HatchÂ
Hatch office on DOJ’s marijuana announcement: “Senator Hatch encourages the Department of Justice to remove bureaucratic red tape – not put up roadblocks – to allow our nation’s top medical researchers to study the potential medicinal benefits of marijuana.” #utpol pic.twitter.com/nmTXOkcZ6K
— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) January 4, 2018
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
Reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions will roll back federal marijuana policy are deeply concerning & disruptive to Oregon's economy. Oregon voters were clear when they chose to legalize the sale of marijuana & the fed govt shouldn't stand in the way https://t.co/3ax9EvdGGE
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) January 4, 2018
Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner
This reported action directly contradicts what Attorney General Sessions told me prior to his confirmation. With no prior notice to Congress, the Justice Department has trampled on the will of the voters in CO and other states.
— Cory Gardner (@SenCoryGardner) January 4, 2018
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker
We must stop Jeff Sessions' backwards actions. There is now great urgency to pass the Marijuana Justice Act to legalize marijuana on the federal level.
Now is the time. Call your Senator. https://t.co/Cr8FZjITWI pic.twitter.com/9OMTz3VMjN
— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) January 4, 2018
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth WarrenÂ
States like Massachusetts have put a lot of work into implementing common sense marijuana regulations. https://t.co/KteYeEzxVe
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 4, 2018
Calfornia Rep. Ted Lieu
AG Jeff Sessions apparently wants to take America back to the 1920s. Prohibition didn't work then and it will not work now. Congress needs to pass sensible laws to prevent a monumental waste of precious federal resources chasing Americans who use #cannabis. #thursdaythoughts https://t.co/GP3qPyKIve
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) January 4, 2018
California Rep. Dana RohrbacherÂ
https://twitter.com/RepRohrabacher/status/948982035141537792
Vermont Sen. Bernie SandersÂ
No, Attorney General Sessions. Marijuana is not the same as heroin. No one who has seriously studied the issue believes that. Quite the contrary. We should allow states the right to move toward the decriminalization of marijuana, not reverse the progress that has been made.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 4, 2018
California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom
My full statement on Attorney General Jeff Sessions' harmful and destructive attempt to revive the failed war on drugs.
Calling on our federal leaders to move quickly to protect states’ rights from the harmful effects of this ideological temper tantrum by Sessions. pic.twitter.com/96xtRx6OYE
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 4, 2018
John Dean, former Nixon administration lawyer
https://twitter.com/JohnWDean/status/948975682201174017
Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison
The war on drugs didn’t stop drug usage; it just ruined a lot of lives. Jeff Sessions is reviving it because he believes in using the criminal justice system as an instrument of racial and economic control of poor people and brown people. https://t.co/XRd8OldE2N
— Keith Ellison (@keithellison) January 4, 2018
Muckraking journalist Glenn Greenwald
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/948924747584327681
Dr. Eugene Gu, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Jeff Sessions should focus on how Congress crippled the DEA's ability to fight the opioid epidemic. Instead he tramples upon states' rights and recreational marijuana laws.
64,000 Americans died last year from opioids. None have died from THC. But, you know, priorities.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) January 4, 2018
The American Civil Liberties UnionÂ
Unlike the majority of Americans, Jeff Sessions wants to ramp up the War on Drugs, which has failed by almost every measure and in the process destroyed communities of color.
— ACLU (@ACLU) January 4, 2018
Medical marijuana advocate Montel WilliamsÂ
https://twitter.com/Montel_Williams/status/949008464159834113
God (well, probably not the real God)
https://twitter.com/TheTweetOfGod/status/948948926261903360
