BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts’ top marijuana regulator says U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling’s most recent guidance on federal enforcement of marijuana laws should provide some “clarity” at a crucial time when the state is nearing the start of retail sales.

Cannabis Control Commission chairman Steven Hoffman is suggesting that Lelling’s latest statement, issued Tuesday, marks a return of sorts to the principals of the Cole Memorandum. That’s a reference to the U.S. Justice Department’s 2013 guidance to states on non-interference with recreational marijuana laws.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memorandum in January, prompting concerns of a federal crackdown on legal pot.


Lelling indicated in his statement that his office would likely limit its focus to enforcing laws against drug trafficking, illegal out-of-state distribution of marijuana and illegal sales to minors.