Colorado’s junior senator, Republican Cory Gardner, blinked first in a standoff with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
According to the Denver Post, Gardner said he will stop blocking judicial appointees from the Department of Justice in retaliation for Sessions’ revocation last month of several nonbinding cannabis-related policy memos.
After the Sessions Memo roiled the MJ industry, Gardner delayed confirmation votes on more than two dozen appointees for posts as U.S. marshals and U.S. attorneys.
Gardner’s political pushback stemmed from his belief that states should be left to their own devices on marijuana legalization and regulation.
According to the Post, Gardner said his negotiations with the DOJ included “very good, positive conversations about protecting states’ rights and protecting the voters of Colorado’s wishes.”
What remains unclear, however, is what will happen to the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment, which is the only legal roadblock in Sessions’ way if he hopes to begin prosecuting state-licensed medical cannabis companies.
The amendment is set to expire March 23 unless Congress acts to extend it again.
Gardner is one of 18 U.S. senators who recently signed a letter urging the Senate Appropriations Committee to work to formally protect states’ rights when it comes to cannabis regulations.