Attorney General Jeff Sessions told his state counterparts that he is "dubious about marijuana," adding that he's unsure that "we're going to be a healthier nation if we have marijuana being sold at every corner grocery store."

"I just don't think that'll be good for us," Alabama's former junior senator told the National Association of Attorneys General's winter meeting on Tuesday.

Marijuana legalization advocates said Sessions' characterization of the widespread availability of pot in states where it is legal is inaccurate.

"No states allow this," Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana Majority, told the Sacramento Bee about marijuana being sold at corner stores.

Sessions blasted the arguments being made for marijuana.

"I'd seen a line in the Washington Post [Tuesday] that I remember from the '80s. This one was: 'Marijuana is a cure for opiate abuse.' Give me a break. This is the kind of argument that's been made out there, just almost a desperate attempt to defend the harmlessness of marijuana, or even its benefits," the attorney general said. "I doubt that's true. Maybe science will prove I'm wrong, but at this point in time you and I have a responsibility to use our best judgment."

While President Donald Trump campaigned on leaving marijuana legalization up to individual states, his appointment of Sessions, a strong opponent of marijuana, raised concerns with pro-marijuana advocates who fear a Justice Department crackdown on states where pot is legal.