John Erhlichman and others have written that Nixon specifically started and pursued the War on Drugs to target the young, the liberal, and the brown—all groups that tend to vote more for Democrats than Republicans. The drug war reduces democratic-leaning voters by locking up tens of thousands at any given time and by leaving millions more unable to vote even when released, depending on the state. In Maine and Vermont for example, felons never lose their right to vote, even while serving time. In the key swings states of Florida, Iowa, and Virginia, on the other hand, a convicted felon loses his or her right to vote permanently.

Drug prohibition in general has been a monumental disaster in just about every measurable way starting with alcohol in 1929. As years rolled by with no sanity in sight on the issue, individual states began putting legalization of marijuana on their respective ballots. It didn’t escape public notice that in states where cannabis was decriminalized, the ominous warnings about the impending doom of all that is Good and Right did not come to pass. Legal marijuana use, it turned out, wasn’t a big deal, had no negative impact on the communities where it was legalized, and created a whole new field for investors and entrepreneurs.

The problem is that the use, possession, sale, cultivation, and transportation of cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. Marijuana is still a Schedule 1 controlled substance, along with heroin and LSD. That means every doctor who writes scripts and every dispensary that fills them are committing federal felonies and could arguably be engaged in racketeering. From time to time the DEA and other police forces even raid such state-sanctioned groups for fun and show, all dressed up in black gear and automatic weapons like SEAL Team Six hitting bin Laden.

The White House has been mostly silent on the matter, but neither the president or his attorneys general seem to have made enforcing federal laws in states where voters have opted for legalization any kind of priority. Congress has recently opted to leave it in the hands of local and state government.

But the damage is done and continues to be done. There are as we speak more than 2 million people in U.S. prisons and another 5 million or so on parole or probation of some kind. Currently, it is estimated that 6 million Americans are unable to vote due to felony disenfranchisement. Almost one-quarter of those locked up or on probation are for drug or drug-related offenses, and much of that last group is for marijuana.

In short, keeping marijuana illegal and enforcing those laws, regardless of state’s rights or ballot results, helps conservatives and hurts Democrats. And Jeff “Beau” Sessions the Third is just the neo-confederate throwback to breathe new life into dying prohibition laws—and carve off another sliver off potential progressive voters.