Risky Business? The Trump Administration and the State-Licensed Marijuana Industry

Abstract

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made it clear that he opposes legalization of marijuana, a drug he considers “only slightly less awful” than heroin. Such comments have fueled speculation that the Trump Administration might soon launch a new war on weed. In this short essay, however, Professor Mikos suggests that the Trump Administration’s impact on state reforms and the state-licensed marijuana industry is likely to be tempered by three potent forces: (1) political support for state reforms; (2) practical limits on the DOJ’s enforcement capacity; and (3) legal doctrines that weaken the DOJ’s ability to turn back the clock on state reforms. The essay discusses each of these constraints in turn and ultimately suggests that the Attorney General might pursue less draconian tactics, like anti-marijuana media campaigns, to curb the rise of the marijuana industry and the harms he attributes to it.

Keywords: Marijuana, Marihuana, Cannabis, Trump, Sessions, Weed, DOJ, Department of Justice, Enforcement, Controlled Substances, Drug