Attorney General Undercut by Boss; Gardner Claims Victory

Early this morning, Colorado Senator Cory Gardner announced today that he has secured an agreement from President Trump, via a personal phone call, that the Administration is "is abandoning a Justice Department threat to crack down on recreational marijuana in states where it is legal".

Garder released a statement which includes the archaic/racist term "marijuana" instead of cannabis:

"Since the campaign, President Trump has consistently supported states’ rights to decide for themselves how best to approach marijuana. Late Wednesday, I received a commitment from the President that the Department of Justice’s rescission of the Cole memo will not impact Colorado’s legal marijuana industry.

Furthermore, President Trump has assured me that he will support a federalism-based legislative solution to fix this states’ rights issue once and for all. Because of these commitments, I have informed the Administration that I will be lifting my remaining holds on Department of Justice nominees."

MJ Biz Daily reported: "Gardner had taken a stand against Sessions’ move in January, and has been holding up DOJ appointments as part of a standoff over federal cannabis policy (see our story on the holdout). In addition, Gardner and 17 other senators signed a letter of support in February for states’ rights regarding marijuana legalization and regulation."

Over at Civilized, writer Joseph Misulonas noted "...isn't it a little weird that Gardner kept insisting that "Colorado's legal marijuana industry" would be protected, not the industry in all legalized states?"

Fair question, Senator: Did you really cut such a selfish deal?

Also, what about the huge amount of political capital invested by the Attorney General over the recision of the Cole Memo and the impending federal crackdown? The LA Times observed that while "White House officials confirmed the policy shift Friday. Trump did not inform Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions in advance of the change in policy, an almost unheard of undermining of a Cabinet official."

We are reminded of the oldie-but-goodie film, "Stripes" and the moment when a rebellious group of Army trainees including Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis) plan to step forward and make a bold statement to Sergeant Hulka. At the appointed moment, Ziskey and John (Bill Murray) Winger's eyes meet... Ziskey leans forward... Winger leans forward and... pulls back at the last second. Ziskey is alone, exposed, his future in question.

One wonders whether the Attorney General is feeling like Ziskey this evening.

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