At a press conference today Attorney General Jeff Sessions made new, and disparaging, comments on marijuana.

“Most of you probably know I don’t think America is going to be a better place when more people of all ages and particularly young people start smoking pot,” Sessions told reporters today. “I believe it’s an unhealthy practice and current levels of THC in marijuana are very high compared to what they were a few years ago.”

Sessions continued; “We’re seeing real violence around that,.. Experts are telling me there’s more violence around marijuana than one would think and there’s big money involved.”

Session ended his remarks on marijuana by saying; “I’m definitely not a fan of expanded use of marijuana.. States they can pass the laws they choose. I would just say it does remain a violation of federal law to distribute marijuana throughout any place in the United States, whether a state legalizes it or not.”

“Attorney General Sessions’ latest comments are completely fictitious; they describe a reality that only exists in the world of alternative facts”; says Eric Altieri, Executive Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). “Marijuana legalization has not lead to increased violence, but rather has lead to lowered youth use rates, increased tax revenue; and fewer arrests of otherwise law abiding American citizens. The truth is that legalization is working and the views recently espoused by Attorney General Sessions are reckless, irresponsible, and outright false”.