DENVER — Following a new policy directive from Attorney General Jeff Sessions giving federal prosecutors more flexibility to crack down on marijuana, Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman stressed calm.
“I would encourage people not to freak out,” Coffman said Thursday.
Coffman spoke with Colorado U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer and said she walked away from the conversation believing he would not change course from current practices.
“I expect based on what I heard this morning that the federal government is going to continue its focus on enforcement efforts to combat the grey and black markets,” Coffman said.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper echoed those sentiments, but he stressed he can’t do much if a raid does take place on a marijuana business.
“Federal law supersedes state law so I can’t stop that from happening,” Hickenlooper said.
Meanwhile, Colorado dispensary owners reacted with apprehension.
“We were obviously disappointed,” said Justin Henderson, owner of Peak Dispensary.
“We have to act like there is nothing else going on — keep our doors open and take care of our customers. But it is concerning. I honestly fear a raid happening here.”
One person not happy is Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, who said he was “blindsided by this” and added Sessions told him he would not do this.
“It’s simply unacceptable to basically lie in terms of what they said and I will put a hold on every Department of Justice nominee until he lives up to what he told me,” Gardner said.