On Monday, the Attorney General Jeff Sessions reiterated that, as the chief law enforcement officer, his main priority would be on reducing the Violent Crime rate in America. He added that the increase in murder rates have foreshadowed the other problem across the country.
More cases of marijuana
Attorney General Jeff Sessions told reporters that the cases involving marijuana are on the rise and experts confirmed the news. He said that his department is reviewing the memo presented by the Justice Department during former President Obama’s administration.
The memo, once implemented, will give more power and flexibility to the states for passing laws related to marijuana.
Earlier last week, White House press secretary Sean Spicer, said that Justice Department is going to impose a federal law against the use of recreational marijuana. Even though Sessions did not say what they are going to do, he did add that he doesn’t believe America to be a better place with a lot of Americans smoking pot.
Sessions told reporters that he is not impressed about the excess usage of marijuana. Distributing marijuana across America is the equivalent to violating federal law.
Some states have legalized recreational use of marijuana
Around 8 states, along with the District of Columbia, have legalized recreational use of marijuana.
The Justice Department said that they are not planning to challenge those state laws. Studies conducted by agencies found there is no correlation between violent crime rates and legalizing marijuana.
Drug traffickers taking advantage of lax marijuana laws
Law enforcement officers said that in states like Colorado, drug traffickers were taking advantage of legalized recreational use of marijuana law.
They are now growing in numbers and illegally shipping marijuana across the state lines so that they can sell it for higher prices.
There were reports that states like Colorado and other pot-legal states hadn’t taken effective measures to stop drugs from going beyond the state borders.
Jeff Sessions worried about increase in violent crime
The preliminary data from last year shows there has been a big jump in violent crime. Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions have expressed their concern over the rise in violent crime. According to the data received, murder increased by 11% in 2015, it is the biggest rise in one single year in more than 40 years.
The attorney general also added that he is worried about the continuous rise in gun violence in Chicago. Jeff Sessions continued that the dramatic reduction of police stops and arrests are one of the major reasons for the violence in Chicago.