Thor Benson / Cannabis News Box Contributor

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) recently announced that he had reached a deal with President Trump where Trump promised to approve legislation that would protect states that have legalized cannabis from being pursued by the Department of Justice. Trump isn’t known for sticking to his word, but if this deal does go through, it would be a major win for cannabis advocates and a major blow to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“Momentum is building in Congress to reach a legislative solution to protect state marijuana programs,” Michael Liszewski, policy director for Americans for Safe Access (ASA), told Cannabis News Box. “It’s too soon to tell whether there is enough momentum to reach a deal this year, in part because the biggest hurdles are chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. A bipartisan bill led on the right by someone like Senator Gardner could stand a better chance of overcoming this hurdle.”

There isn’t yet a bill being voted on in Congress that would assure the cannabis industry these protections, but it seems very likely one is coming shortly. Liszewski said such a bill would help state-compliant businesses from having to fear federal interference.

Jeff Sessions has been a major opponent of cannabis legalization, and it seems likely he’d do anything he can to oppose such a policy. However, Liszewski said there’s little Sessions can do to crack down on legal cannabis if such a bill becomes law.

“It would be pretty difficult for AG Sessions to crackdown on marijuana if bipartisan Congressional legislation allowing states to set their own marijuana policies was signed into law,” he said. “However, if the bill contains provisions that somehow allows federal prosecution of individuals acting in accordance with state marijuana laws, Sessions could try to exploit those provisions.”

It’s worth noting that Trump has publicly chastised Sessions for actions he did not like while Sessions has been attorney general, so it’s not entirely unlikely that he’d sign a bill that Sessions was staunchly against. Furthermore, Trump promised during the 2016 campaign to leave cannabis legalization to the states, and this would line up with that promise. Whether he’ll stick to his word remains to be seen and cannot be predicted, considering his temperament.

“The kindest way to view the Trump administration’s handling of marijuana issues is mixed but improving,” Liszewski said. Though Trump has appointed many drug warriors to top positions, he might personally do the right thing and let states handle cannabis unencumbered.