Spicer: Expect to see 'greater enforcement' of federal marijuana law

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday that he expects states to see “greater enforcement” of the federal law against marijuana use, a move that would be at odds with a growing number of states’ decisions to legalize it.

Spicer, taking questions from reporters at the daily briefing, differentiated between the administration’s positions on medical marijuana and recreational marijuana.


President Donald Trump “understands the pain and suffering that many people go through who are facing especially terminal diseases, and the comfort that some of these drugs, including medical marijuana, can bring to them,” he said, also noting previous action by Congress not to fund the Justice Department “go[ing] after those folks.”

As for “recreational marijuana, that’s a very, very different subject,” Spicer said.

Spicer suggested that the administration is opposed to encouraging recreational marijuana use and connected it with the crisis with opioid addiction in some areas.

“When you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we should be doing is encouraging people,” he said.

The Department of Justice, Spicer said, will be “further looking into” the marijuana enforcement question, he said, punting questions about the specifics to the department.

“I do believe that you'll see greater enforcement of it,” he said.

The Obama administration did not interfere with states’ decisions to legalize marijuana and focused its enforcement efforts on other drugs. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, though, has been a foe of legal marijuana in the past, prompting advocates for legalization to worry that the Justice Department might change course.

Advocacy groups were quick to respond to Spicer's pronouncement on Thursday.

The National Cannabis Industry Association's executive director Aaron Smith issued a statement asserting that "it would be a mistake for the Department of Justice to overthrow the will of the voters and state governments who have created carefully regulated adult-use marijuana programs." Mark Malone, the executive director of the Cannabis Business Alliance, cited the results of a study that concluded that legalizing medical marijuana might actually decrease opioid use.