‘Department of Justice’
Could “No Action” Letters from the DOJ (and other Federal Agencies) Help State-Licensed Marijuana Suppliers Overcome Some Obstacles They Now Face?
Apr. 30, 2020—Tom Firestone (Baker McKenzie) has an intriguing post over at the firm’s Global Cannabis Compliance Blog: DOJ No-Action Letters for the Marijuana Industry? In it, he suggests that the DOJ and other key federal agencies (such as the SEC and FinCen) could issue “No Action” letters to state licensed marijuana suppliers and the third parties...
Congress Renews DOJ Spending Rider
Mar. 28, 2018—The $1.3 trillion budget Congress passed on March 23, 2018 included a rider that continues to bar the DOJ from enforcing the federal marijuana ban in some circumstances. It is identical in substance to the Rohrabacher-Farr (or Rohrabacher-Blumenauer) amendments Congress has passed each budget cycle since 2014 (see book pages 353-358). The latest rider will...
DOJ Suit Challenging California Sanctuary Laws Could Have Ramifications for State Marijuana Reforms as Well
Mar. 8, 2018—On March 6 the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit challenging California’s sanctuary state policies as preempted. Those sanctuary policies are designed to mitigate state concerns over the enforcement of federal immigration laws. The DOJ’s Brief in Support of its Motion for a Preliminary Injunction provides a useful summary of the challenged state laws...
Jeff Sessions Rescinds Obama-Era Enforcement Guidance: Five Observations
Jan. 5, 2018—[Post has been updated and revised again to add new links: Jan. 12, 2018] On January 4, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions formally rescinded enforcement guidance that had been issued by the Obama Administration DOJ as far back as 2009. To simplify somewhat, that guidance had urged United States Attorneys not to enforce the federal...
Coverage of DOJ’s Response to Legalization
Aug. 17, 2017—The Cannabist has compiled a wonderful collection of primary documents detailing the back-and-forth between the governors of the first four recreational legalization states (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington) and the U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions. The documents include: April 2017 letters from state leaders imploring Sessions to adhere to the Obama Administration’s non-enforcement policy. That...