Attorney General Jeff Sessions has asked members of Congress to undo federal medical cannabis protections that have been in place since 2014, according to a letter he wrote last month.

The protections, known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, prohibit the Justice Department from using federal funds to prevent certain states “from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana.”

In his letter, Attorney General Sessions argues that the protections “inhibit [the Justice Department’s] authority to enforce the Controlled Substances Act.” He stated the restriction of the Justice Department in this area is “unwise” because the country is apparently “in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime.”

Many researchers attribute Sessions’ reference of the “historic drug epidemic” to the increased rate of opiate abuse and deaths in the United States, not cannabis use. In fact, a growing body of research has indicated opiate deaths have decreased in states with medical cannabis legislation.

In light of this information, it seems cracking down on medical cannabis providers would only increase the drug epidemic and violent crime Attorney General Sessions is apparently trying to prevent.