Colorado's Congressional delegation plans to use federal appropriations bills to stop U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions from going after marijuana operations made legal at the state level, Sen. Cory Gardner said Friday.
Gardner said he organized a conference call with fellow Colorado congress members Friday and came away with an agreement that adding a rider to an appropriations bill was the proper first step. Now, it's a matter of building support across state lines — and with 29 states having some form of legal cannabis, he thinks a majority vote would be there.
"We've got to build this coalition over the next several weeks, and really this coalition is already naturally formed with the states that have made this a issue a priority in importance," Gardner, a Republican, said. "I don't know that we'll have the support or buy-in of Speaker Paul Ryan or (Senate Majority) Leader Mitch McConnell, but I know there's a tremendous amount of bipartisan support that would be more than the majority of the House and the Senate"
Gardner, who was in the Fort Collins area touring local businesses Friday, said he felt misled by Sessions on federal marijuana policy and that Sessions' decision Thursday to rescind the so-called Cole memo took him by surprise.
