--- title: Colorado Lawmakers Are Not Happy With New Marijuana Policy description: Attorney General Jeff Sessions is cracking down on legal marijuana — and Colorado lawmakers are not happy about it. canonical: https://time.com/5088589/colorado-lawmakers-reactions-jeff-sessions-marijuana-restrictions/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-04T21:18:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:44:28.761Z article:section: Politics og:title: Colorado Lawmakers Are Not Happy With New Marijuana Policy og:description: "The Justice Department has trampled on the will of the voters" og:url: https://time.com/5088589/colorado-lawmakers-reactions-jeff-sessions-marijuana-restrictions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf44004563d90ba0/6988a213524fc07abfdf9202/gettyimages-587170624.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4823 og:image:height: 2713 og:image:alt: Federal Heights medical marijuana og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Colorado Lawmakers Are Not Happy With New Marijuana Policy twitter:description: "The Justice Department has trampled on the will of the voters" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf44004563d90ba0/6988a213524fc07abfdf9202/gettyimages-587170624.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Colorado Lawmakers Are Not Happy About Jeff Sessions' New Marijuana Restrictions > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a250568d-097f-4a25-a3a4-4164f24d068a&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Lawmakers Are Furious Over Justice Department Decision on Marijuana Enforcement [Watch (HLS stream): Lawmakers Are Furious Over Justice Department Decision on Marijuana Enforcement](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ADtrnulE.m3u8) (0:28)  _Published 2018-01-05. The U.S. Department of Justice decision to rescind Obama-era guidance on marijuana enforcement elicited furious statements from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jan 4, 2018 9:18 PM UTC  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jan 4, 2018 9:18 PM UTC Attorney General Jeff Sessions is cracking down on legal marijuana — and Colorado lawmakers are not happy about it. Sessions[ issued a memo](https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1022196/download?utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fsource=govdelivery) on Thursday rescinding policies enacted during the Obama administration that enabled states to grow marijuana legally. Eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana, including Colorado. And its benefitted states’ economies; [according to the Denver Business Journal,](https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2018/01/04/colorado-lawmakers-fire-back-at-ag-sessions-move.html) the marijuana industry has generated $226 million in revenues through November 2017. Colorado Republican Senator Cory Gardner blasted Sessions’ memo, arguing that the decision about marijuana’s legality should be up to the states. “This reported action directly contradicts what Attorney General Sessions told me prior to his confirmation. With no prior notice to Congress, the Justice Department has trampled on the will of the voters in \[Colorado\] and other states,” [he said.](https://twitter.com/SenCoryGardner/status/948934652550680578) “I am prepared to take all steps necessary, including holding DOJ nominees, until the Attorney General lives up to the commitment he made to me prior to his confirmation.” > [](https://twitter.com/SenCoryGardner/status/948934652550680578) Gardner’s Democratic counterpart, Colorado Senator Michael Bennett, said Sessions “failed to listen to Colorado, and will create unnecessary chaos and confusion.” At least five of Colorado’s seven members of the House of Representatives — including two Republicans, Mike Coffman and Scott Tipton — voiced their disapproval with similar sentiments. Democratic Congressman Jared Polis, who leads the Congressional cannabis caucus, called the memo “[absurd](https://twitter.com/RepJaredPolis?lang=en),” while his Democratic colleague characterized it as[ “unconscionable.”](https://twitter.com/RepDianaDeGette/status/948952228861284352) And Mike Coffman insinuated the memo was a violation of the constitution’s commerce clause, which prohibits the federal government from regulating intra-state commerce. > [](https://twitter.com/RepMikeCoffman/status/948951609257668618) “The decision that was made to legalize marijuana in Colorado was made by the voters of Colorado and only applies within the boundaries of our state,” he said. “Colorado had every right to legalize marijuana and I will do everything I can do protect that right against the power of an overreaching federal government.” ## Transcript Prior to his confirmation then Senator Sessions said that he didn't have any plans to, told me there were no plans to reverse the coal memorandum. Then Senator Sessions told me that marijuana simply wasn't going to be on President Trump's agenda. That's why I will be putting today a hold on every single nomination from the Department of Justice. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Until Attorney- General Jeff Sessions lives up to the commitment that he made to me in my pre- confirmation meeting with him. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5088589/colorado-lawmakers-reactions-jeff-sessions-marijuana-restrictions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5088589/colorado-lawmakers-reactions-jeff-sessions-marijuana-restrictions/"},"headline":"Colorado Lawmakers Are Not Happy About Jeff Sessions' New Marijuana Restrictions","datePublished":"2018-01-04T21:18:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-12T08:44:28.761Z","description":"\"The Justice Department has trampled on the will of the voters\"","url":"https://time.com/5088589/colorado-lawmakers-reactions-jeff-sessions-marijuana-restrictions/","keywords":["Justice Department","Marijuana","Colorado","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf44004563d90ba0/6988a213524fc07abfdf9202/gettyimages-587170624.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf44004563d90ba0/6988a213524fc07abfdf9202/gettyimages-587170624.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Federal Heights medical marijuana","caption":"Federal Heights medical marijuana","creditText":"Anya Semenoff—Denver Post via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/justice-department/","name":"Justice Department"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5088589/colorado-lawmakers-reactions-jeff-sessions-marijuana-restrictions/","name":"Colorado Lawmakers Are Not Happy About Jeff Sessions' New Marijuana Restrictions"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Lawmakers Are Furious Over Justice Department Decision on Marijuana Enforcement","description":"The U.S. Department of Justice decision to rescind Obama-era guidance on marijuana enforcement elicited furious statements from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ADtrnulE/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-01-05T00:36:57.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ADtrnulE.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5088589/colorado-lawmakers-reactions-jeff-sessions-marijuana-restrictions/","duration":"PT28S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5088589/colorado-lawmakers-reactions-jeff-sessions-marijuana-restrictions/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```