President Elect Donald Trump took a highly positive tone toward marijuana during the contentious presidential campaign of 2016, repeatedly saying that “we absolutely will do” medical marijuana and that nonmedical marijuana should be “left up to the states.” His choice for US Attorney General has many people shaking their heads and lobbying Congress to stop the appointment of Sen. Jeff Sessions.

Hearings held at the capital on January 10 cut through the middle. Sessions tried to sound reasonable and likable but did not say whether or not he would go after states that have legalized pot. On the one hand, he did not take the opportunity to make any strident statements. On the third hand, he said that he would “enforce all federal laws.” He tempered the second statement by saying he would be fair, but does that mean fair by respecting state laws or “fair” by going after marijuana in all states, whether or not it is legal there?

AG candidate previously supported death penalty for cannabis

Sessions, a radical conservative extremist, did backpedal from two of his positions, disavowing both his support for the Ku Klux Klan and, in response to a question from Senator Leahy (D-VT) for a mandatory death penalty for twice convicted marijuana dealers. Parroting President Barack Obama’s position on marijuana enforcement, Sessions suggested that he might be motivated to lay off enforcement not for social justice purposes, but merely due to limited resources.

“I won’t commit to never enforcing federal law, Senator Leahy,” Sessions said, “but absolutely it is a problem of resources for the federal government. The Department of Justice under Lynch and Holder set forth some policies that they thought were appropriate to define what cases should be prosecuted in states that have legalized, at least in some fashion marijuana, some parts of marijuana.”

Sessions indirectly calls on Congress to legalize marijuana

In one of his responses to Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Sessions called on Congress to change its marijuana laws, a position he never supported while in the Senate. Sessions noted that, “One obvious concern is the United States Congress has made the possession in every state and distribution an illegal act. If that’s something that’s not desired any longer Congress should pass a law to change the rule, it is not the Attorney General’s job to decide what laws to enforce.”

“If that’s something that’s not desired any longer Congress should pass a law to change the rule” — US Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions

During an appearance earlier in the day on Fox News Channel, President-elect Donald Trump’s spokesman Sean Spicer signaled that Sessions would adhere to Trump’s position that states should be able to establish their own marijuana policies. “When you come into a Trump administration, it’s the Trump agenda you’re implementing and not your own,” he said. “I think Senator Sessions is well aware of that.”

“Wishy washy” responses lead to multiple interpretations

“Sessions’ response to questions about marijuana and federalism during his Attorney General confirmation hearing today was wishy-washy at best,” said Bill Piper, Senior Director of the Drug Policy Alliance‘s Office of National Affairs. The DPA urged caution in interpreting his answers.

“It is clear that he was too afraid to say the ‘reefer madness’ things he said just a year ago, and that’s progress. But he made it clear throughout the hearing that he will enforce federal law. He could have said he will respect state marijuana law, which is what President-elect Trump said on the campaign trail, but instead he said it is up to Congress to change the law.

Marijuana Policy Project takes heart in Sessions responses

“Sessions has a long history of opposing marijuana reform, and nothing he said at the hearing suggests he has changed his mind,” added Piper. “Hopefully he will clarify his position in his written response to Senators’ questions.”

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), on the other hand, found reason to take comfort in not only what Sessions said, but what he could have said and did not.

“It is notable that Sen. Sessions chose not to commit to vigorously enforcing federal prohibition laws in states that have reformed their marijuana laws,” commented MPP Director of Federal Policies Robert Capecchi. “He also recognized that enforcing federal marijuana laws would be dependent upon the availability of resources, the scarcity of which poses a problem. He was given the opportunity to take an extreme prohibitionist approach and he passed on it.

“‪It’s also promising that Donald Trump’s spokesperson said earlier in the day that the next attorney general would follow the president-elect’s lead on the issue. President-elect Trump has made it clear that he supports states’ rights to establish their own marijuana policies. Considering both Sen. Sessions and Mr. Spicer’s comments, we remain cautiously optimistic that the incoming administration will continue the current policy of not interfering with individuals and entities acting in compliance with state marijuana laws.”

NORML takes wait and see position

The countries longest-lived cannabis legalization group, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, NORML, took a wait and see position.

Erik Altieri, NORML Executive Director, simply noted that “During his confirmation for the position of Attorney General, Senator Jeff Sessions failed to give a straight answer with regard to how the Justice Department should respond to states that have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use.”