A veteran GOP congressman voiced his opposition to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision to take a firm stance on marijuana at the federal level.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., posted a statement regarding Sessions' move, which ends an Obama-era policy that made it easier for states to make recreational marijuana use legal.

"By attacking the will of the American people, who overwhelmingly favor marijuana legalization, Jeff Sessions has shown a preference for allowing all commerce in marijuana to take place in the black market, which will inevitably bring the spike in violence he mistakenly attributes to marijuana itself," Rohrabacher said. "He is doing the bidding of an out-of-date law enforcement establishment that wants to wage a perpetual weed war and seize private citizens' property in order to finance its backward ambitions."

Several states, most recently California, allow recreational use of marijuana. Rohrabacher said Sessions' directive, which gives federal prosecutors the power to enforce federal drug laws in states where marijuana is legal, goes against the Constitution.

"This is a profound misreading of the Constitution, which allows states, not the heavy-handed federal government, to determine such issues," he said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is also opposed to the directive, saying in a tweet Sessions is waging an "unjust war."