Loretta Lynch, the nominee for attorney general, said Wednesday during her confirmation hearing that she does not support the legalization of marijuana, and that she disagrees with President Barack Obama’s remarks about the drug being no more dangerous than alcohol.
During her hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) asked, “Do you support the legalization of marijuana?”
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Lynch didn’t directly answer, but said that the DOJ’s guidance still allows federal prosecutors to go after marijuana cases that involve at-risk children, driving under the influence of the drug or marijuana crossing state lines — especially when it’s going from a state where marijuana is legal into a state where it isn’t. She also said the DOJ is looking at the availability of edible products “and the risk of those products falling into the hands of children and causing great harm there.”
When asked what advice she might give to officials in a state that’s considering the legalization of marijuana, Lynch simply said she’d refer them to current DOJ policy on narcotics, and that she’d tell them federal laws would be enforced.
