US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end policy that let legal pot flourish

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is going after legalized marijuana.

Sessions is rescinding a policy that had let legalized marijuana flourish without federal intervention across the country.

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The move will leave it to U.S. attorneys where pot is legal to decide whether to aggressively enforce federal marijuana law.

Since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, Congress has generally prohibited the cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana.

"... today's memo on federal marijuana enforcement simply directs all U.S. Attorneys to use previously established prosecutorial principles that provide them all the necessary tools to disrupt criminal organizations, tackle the growing drug crisis, and thwart violent crime across our country."

The move likely will add to confusion about whether it’s OK to grow, buy or use marijuana in states where it’s legal, since long-standing federal law prohibits it.

The decision comes days after California began selling recreational marijuana.

Sessions compares marijuana to heroin and blames it for spikes in violence.

Associated Press