“There is still a federal law we need to abide by in terms of when it comes to recreational marijuana and other drugs of that nature.”

Asked whether states that have legalized recreational use could be targeted by federal actions, Spicer said, “I do believe that you’ll see greater enforcement.” He said that while federal law prohibits raids of medical marijuana operations, “that’s very different than the recreational use, which is something the Department of Justice, I think, will be further looking into.”

It has been years since the Drug Enforcement Administration sent agents on busts of pot businesses operating legally under state laws. The Hill reported that Spicer later said that “I think you’ll see greater enforcement” of marijuana laws, while adding the exact policy is “a question for the Department of Justice.”

Marijuana Majority pointed out a 2016 clip of Trump saying in response to a question about legalizing cannabis that “medical should happen,” but then implying that laws on recreational use “should be a state issue.” However, Trump also said that “there’s a question as to how it’s all working out there” in Colorado, which fully legalized marijuana in 2014. I think that when you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we should be doing is encouraging people.”

Spicer did not immediately say how the President intended to enforce federal laws in states that had approved recreational or medical marijuana. When asked if he would allow his Attorney General to shut down adult-use programs like Colorado’s, he said, ‘I wouldn’t do it – no…I think it should be up to the states, absolutely. “This administration is claiming that it values states’ rights, so we hope they will respect the rights of states to determine their own marijuana policies.”

But Kevin Sabet, president of the anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, called the current situation “unsustainable.”

“States that have legalized marijuana continue to see a black market for the drug, increased rates of youth drug use, continued high rates of alcohol sales, and interstate trafficking, with drug dealers taking advantage of non-enforcement,” he said. “The White House press secretary’s comments are hardly surprising and they are similar to comments made by the new US Attorney General Jeff Sessions during his vetting process when he made clear that any use of marijuana remains against federal law and that ‘it is not the Attorney General’s job to decide what laws to enforce,’” Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, told The Cannifornian.
The Trump administration signals that it plans a crackdown on U.S states that legalize the use of cannabis.