"I do believe you'll see greater enforcement of it," Spicer yesterday said in response to a question during a news conference. But he offered no details about what such enforcement would entail.
President Donald Trump does not oppose medical marijuana, he added, but "that's very different than recreational use, which is something the Department of Justice will be further looking into."
A day earlier, the administration announced that the issue of transgender student bathroom access was best left to states and local communities to decide.
Enforcement would also shift away from marijuana policy under the Obama administration, which said in a 2013 memo that it would not intervene in state's marijuana laws as long as they keep the drug from crossing state lines and away from children and drug cartels.
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But the memo carried no force of law and could be rewritten by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has consistently said he opposes legal marijuana but has not indicated what he might do.
Enforcement could also be as simple as directing US attorneys to send letters to recreational marijuana businesses letting them know they are breaking the law.
Washington's attorney general, Bob Ferguson, said he and Gov Jay Inslee, both Democrats, requested a meeting with Sessions about his approach to legal, regulated marijuana.
Ferguson led the states in fighting off Trump's executive order on immigration in court and said yesterday he's prepared to lead the way in defending legal marijuana, too.
Kevin Sabet, head of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said pot enforcement is needed for public safety and Spicer's comments made him hopeful.
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