Colorado Congress members send letter to Sessions, urging reinstatement of Cole Memo
Published: Jan 9, 2018, 2:11 pm • Updated: Jan 9, 2018, 2:35 pm
By Alicia Wallace, The Cannabist Staff
Colorado congressional legislators fired off a letter Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, asking that he reconsider last week’s rescission of the Cole Memo and related marijuana guidance.
Democratic representatives Jared Polis, Diana DeGette and Ed Perlmutter, and Republican Rep. Mike Coffman signed the letter to Sessions. In it, they “strongly urge” the Department of Justice to reinstate the Cole Memo in order to ensure the Justice Department “is acting to uphold the will of Colorado voters and the rights of the states to regulate intrastate commerce.”
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“We represent a state that posed the question of marijuana legalization to its voters not once, but twice,” they wrote. “Voters first approved the use of medical marijuana and subsequently, our constituents approved its use for adult recreational use. The citizens of Colorado have spoken on this issue. We believe we are obliged to heed their decision. Further, all the laws and regulations put in place governing the use of marijuana in our state clearly restrict it to a matter internal to the state of Colorado.”
This story is developing and being updated.
Related: Sessions and the States
Read the letter from the representatives:
Colorado Delegation Cole Memo Letter Jan 9 2018 (PDF)
Colorado Delegation Cole Memo Letter Jan 9 2018 (Text)
Topics: cole memo, Colorado, Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, Jared Polis, Jeff Sessions, mike coffman, Sessions and the states 
Alicia Wallace
Alicia Wallace joined The Cannabist in July 2016, covering national marijuana policy and business. In her 14 years as a business news reporter, her coverage has spanned topics such as the economy, natural foods, airlines, biotech, retail,…
