A former top Justice Department official under the Obama administration and a former GOP senator are joining an advisory board of a major marijuana industry group. The National Cannabis Roundtable (NCR) announced on Thursday that former Deputy Attorney General James Cole and former Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) will be advising the organization as it advocates for federal cannabis reform. Cole is well known within the marijuana community for issuing a memo during his time at DOJ that laid out cannabis enforcement priorities for federal prosecutors that generally deprioritized going after people acting in compliance with state laws. Former Attorney General Jeff Session rescinded that guidance during Trump administration, however, and it’s yet to be reinstated by the Biden administration Department of Justice. “Cannabis reform is incredibly complicated not least because of the robust state marketplaces, which have developed under federal prohibition,” Cole said in a press release. “As Congress continues to debate the legislative solutions which are necessary to truly reconciling the differences between state and federal law, there are meaningful ways to ensure the protection of public health and safety, and to positively impact the Americans who have built this robust cannabis economy, including those disproportionately harmed by the drug war.”
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 09/30/2021 15:06:00