Despite having never received concrete assurances from the Justice Department that it won’t pursue criminal charges, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Tuesday he would allow the state’s medical marijuana law to move forward, Forbes reported.
Christie said the program was “a risk I’m willing to take as governor” and that he believes federal prosecutors have more important crimes to pursue than state-sanctioned marijuana dispensaries and users.
“It is my belief, having held that job for seven years, that there’s a lot of other things that will be more important as long as the dispensaries operate within the law,” he said at a news conference.
Christie had blocked his state’s program in June over concerns that federal prosecutors would bring charges under the Controlled Substances Act, which still lists marijuana as an illegal substance.
The governor sent two letters to Attorney General Eric Holder asking for clarification on the law and assurances that prosecutors wouldn’t go after state-approved medical marijuana businesses or the state employees implementing the program.
Several other states put the brakes on their programs as well, and Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne even filed suit against the department seeking a court judgment on whether his state could lawfully implement medical marijuana laws.
Some clarification came earlier this month. In a policy memo to federal prosecutors, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said that a 2009 memo by then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden did not protect states from prosecution.
It would fall to individual U.S. Attorneys to decide whether to prosecute cases, the memo said. But Cole made clear that going after state-sanctioned users was not a priority.
To date, 16 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana use.
