A U.S. attorney’s office says it will now begin “rigorously” prosecuting people over simple possession or use of marijuana on federal lands after the Trump administration rescinded Biden-era guidance that advised against taking such legal actions.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming said in a press release on Thursday that the Justice Department “rescinded previous guidance concerning the prosecution of simple marijuana possession” in a memo to prosecutors on September 29.
“This comes after President Biden pardoned certain U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents for offenses related to simple possession, attempted possession, or use of marijuana and directed U.S. Attorney’s [sic] not to prosecute those offenses,” it said. “This significantly curtailed federal prosecutions of misdemeanor marijuana offenses.”
While Biden granted two rounds of mass pardons for people who’ve committed federal cannabis possession offenses during his term—specifically including those prosecuted for possession on federal lands during the second round—the administration didn’t publicize that any prosecutorial guidance directive had been issued, and none has previously been reported.
As far as the September 29 DOJ rescission action referenced by the U.S. attorney’s office is concerned, that memo also does not appear to be publicly available. Marijuana Moment reached out to the Justice Department for clarification, but a representative did not immediately provide the document or details about it.
“Marijuana possession remains a federal crime in the United States, irrespective of varying state laws,” U.S. Attorney Darin Smith said in his office’s press release. “The detrimental effects of drugs on our society are undeniable, and I am committed to using every prosecutorial tool available to hold offenders accountable.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming remains steadfast in its mission to uphold the rule of law, including the enforcement of federal statutes prohibiting the possession of marijuana and other controlled substances,” Smith’s office said.
While questions remain as to the specifics of both the Biden- and Trump-related marijuana prosecutorial guidance, the federal attorney’s message adds to the uncertainty around how the current administration views its enforcement role as federal and state cannabis laws continue to conflict.
For example, the notice from Smith’s office comes just one day after Trump signed a key spending bill that contains provisions to ban consumable hemp products with THC—a move that industry stakeholders say would eradicate the market that’s emerged since the president signed the 2018 Farm Bill legalizing the crop during his first term.
Then there’s the ongoing marijuana rescheduling process that the president said in late August would be decided within a matter of weeks.
That still hasn’t come to fruition—and a White House spokesperson told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday that “there is a process ongoing regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on rescheduling marijuana from May 2024 and all policy and legal requirements and implications are being considered.”
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Trump endorsed rescheduling—as well as marijuana industry banking access and a Florida adult-use legalization initiative that ultimately failed—on the campaign trail ahead of his election to a second term. But when he was pressed on the status of the rescheduling process in mid-August, he was less clear about his personal stance.
The administration was “only looking at that” reform, and it’s too “early” to say how the issue will be decided, he said at the time, adding that “it’s a very complicated subject.”
Meanwhile, top White House staffers under the Biden administration recently shed new light on the mass marijuana pardon and cannabis rescheduling process they helped facilitate, revealing the extent to which they were involved in broader clemency actions that are now under scrutiny by GOP leaders.
Also, as the marijuana rescheduling proposal awaits action, some GOP members of Congress have been urging Trump to move forward with the reform—with one lawmaker taking a jab at Biden by joking that it’s possible the prior administration “must have not been able to find the autopen in time” to complete the cannabis reform process it initiated.
Separately, the president last month posted a video on his Truth Social platform promoting the health benefits of cannabis—suggesting that covering CBD under Medicare would be “the most important senior health initiative of the century.”
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