{"id":8746,"date":"2019-04-10T22:38:40","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T22:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=3417612"},"modified":"2019-04-10T22:38:40","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T22:38:40","slug":"new-trump-attorney-general-endorses-gardners-marijuana-legalization-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/new-trump-attorney-general-endorses-gardners-marijuana-legalization-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"New Trump attorney general endorses Gardner\u2019s marijuana legalization bill"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/new-trump-attorney-general-endorses-gardners-marijuana-legalization-bill\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/new-trump-attorney-general-endorses-gardners-marijuana-legalization-bill.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2019\/04\/10\/william-barr-cory-gardner-marijuana-legalization\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dp-news-marijuana+%28Denver+Post%3A+News%3A+Marijuana%29&amp;utm_content=Google+UK#comments-anchor\"><span class=\"spot-im-replies-count\" data-post-id=\"3417612\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>U.S. Attorney General William Barr said Wednesday that he prefers Sen. Cory Gardner\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2019\/04\/04\/cory-gardner-colorado-marijuana-federal-enforcement\/\">legislation on marijuana<\/a> to the \u201cintolerable\u201d patchwork of state and federal laws that exists today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPersonally, I would still favor one uniform federal rule against marijuana, but if there is not sufficient consensus to obtain that, then I think the way to go is to permit a more federal approach, that states can make their own decisions within the framework of the federal law and so we\u2019re not just ignoring the enforcement of federal law,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.appropriations.senate.gov\/hearings\/review-of-the-fy2020-budget-request-for-doj\">said Barr<\/a>, who took over in February.<\/p>\n<p>Barr was asked by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gardner.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/senators-gardner-warren-and-representatives-blumenauer-joyce-reintroduce-bipartisan-bicameral-legislation-to-protect-states-marijuana-policies\">the STATES Act<\/a>. The Gardner legislation is backed by a bipartisan group in Congress and would prevent authorities from enforcing a federal marijuana prohibition in states that have legalized, such as Colorado.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, I haven\u2019t studied specifically the STATES law, but I\u2019ve just circulated it through the (Justice) Department for comment and I think that\u2019s the process it\u2019s in now,\u201d Barr told Murkowski.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce we get those comments, we\u2019ll be able to work with you on any concerns about the STATES law, but I would much rather that approach \u2013 the approach taken by the STATES Act \u2013 than where we currently are.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\" \/>\n<p>Barr\u2019s early support for the legislation, which was introduced last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2018\/11\/08\/colorado-senator-gardner-attorney-general-marijuana-states-rights\/\">marks a departure<\/a> from the strict anti-marijuana stance of his predecessor, Jeff Sessions. Gardner, a Yuma Republican, has said President Donald Trump is willing to sign the bill if it reaches his desk. The senator said Wednesday that he spoke to Barr about the STATES Act before Barr took office earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m glad Attorney General Barr today reiterated his belief that the current situation is untenable and that the STATES Act is an approach he would be interested in pursuing, and I hope my colleagues will hear his loud and clear call for Congress to act,\u201d Gardner said.<\/p>\n<p>The STATES Act was first introduced last year but failed to garner traction in the Republican-controlled Senate. In December, Gardner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2018\/12\/17\/cory-gardner-marijuana-amendment-congress\/\">tried attaching it<\/a> to a criminal justice reform bill but that approach was denied by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>U.S. Attorney General William Barr said Wednesday that he prefers Sen. Cory Gardner\u2019s legislation on marijuana to the \u201cintolerable\u201d patchwork of state and federal laws that exists today. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6811,6857,7163,5662,6964,77,9,6855,5019,441,1,3,61,8056,1736],"tags":[6816,6859,7165,5668,6967,2655,6856,5022,3015,8057],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8746"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}