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By TOM WROBLESKI

ADVANCE SENIOR OPINION WRITER

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – America’s got a problem with weed, and somebody needs to sort it out.

Recreational marijuana is legal is eight states and the District of Columbia. New Jersey could be next on the road to recreational legalization.

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Medical marijuana, meanwhile, is legal in 29 states, including New York, and in D.C. And if New Jersey legalizes for recreational use, that could spur New York lawmakers to look at recreational legalization as well. Not a slam dunk by any stretch, but the Empire State could at least consider it.

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Money from weed sales already goes to fund a host of government programs in the various states where weed is legal. And medical marijuana is credited with helping people with terminal illnesses, seizure disorders and chronic pain find relief. There’s a whole industry out there.

But here’s the thing: Marijuana is still an illegal drug according to the federal government. The feds, in fact, classify marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, putting it right up there with some of the most dangerous drugs, including heroin and LSD.

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According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, Schedule 1 drugs have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” It’s the belief about the lack of medical value that puts marijuana in the Schedule 1 classification. Medical marijuana advocates would dispute that opinion, of course.

So how has the pot trade been able to flourish from coast to coast? President Barack Obama in 2013 issued guidance that prevented the federal government from cracking down on weed in states where it was legal. The message from the administration was clear: Weed is a states’ rights issue. The feds would keep their hands off.

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Now Attorney Jeff Sessions has rescinded that 2013 guidance, meaning that federal prosecutors can use their own discretion when prosecuting marijuana crimes. They can go after growers and sellers even in states where residents have voted to make marijuana legal. It’s unknown what effect this will have on the existing and expanding marijuana industry.

But it certainly creates quite a quandary: You’ve got an exploding legal marijuana industry, both medical and recreational, but weed remains illegal in the eyes of the federal government.

Never mind the cognitive dissonance of a Republican like Sessions (from the south) wanting the federal government to trump states' rights. It makes as much sense as a big-government Dem like Obama pushing the weed issue off to the states.

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Whatever you think about medical marijuana or recreational legalization, it’s a screwed up system. Either pot is up to the states, or it’s something for the feds to address. Either the feds are going to enforce the law or they’re not. The states are either breaking federal law or they’re not.

The drug schedules were created by Congress. But deciding which drugs are on or off the schedule has fallen to the DEA and the Food and Drug Administration. The DEA in 2014 declined to remove marijuana from Schedule 1. It’s not likely that anti-pot Sessions will ask the DEA to take another look.

While campaigning last year, President Donald Trump said that weed should be left to the states. So he could have the DEA review the schedule status. Or he could override his own attorney general and restore the Obama-era guidance that ordered the feds to keep hands off.

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Or Congress itself could act, at least on medical marijuana. This is the route that state Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) wants to see taken.

“We need action now,” Savino said in a written statement. “The attorney general does not make laws, he enforces them. Congress makes law.”

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She called on the 336 members of Congress from states with legal medical marijuana programs to pass legislation legalizing medical cannabis.

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Whatever you think of weed, having two legal standards in place doesn’t make any sense. It’s clear that the various states will continue to take up legalization of marijuana in various forms. Time to decide the question on the federal level once and for all.

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