The Justice Department will not challenge state laws that legalize small amounts of marijuana for medical or recreational use.
A release announcing the decision on Thursday said recently-passed laws by states like Colorado and Washington motivated the change of policy.
The path is now clear for the enactment of state laws, but the Justice Department will still prosecute many cases involving small amounts of marijuana.
A memo distributed to state lawyers and government officials outlines eight situations when federal prosecutors will still enforce marijuana laws:
- The distribution of marijuana to minors
- Revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels
- The diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in some form to other states
- State-authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover or pretext for the trafficking of other illegal drugs or other illegal activity
- Violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana
- Drugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with marijuana use
- Growing of marijuana on public lands and the attendant public safety and environmental dangers posed by marijuana production on public lands
- Preventing marijuana possession or use on federal property.
States must enact strict regulatory schemes, according to the Justice Department.
"The Department expects these states to establish strict regulatory schemes that protect the eight federal interests identified in the Department's guidance," the release said. "These schemes must be tough in practice, not just on paper, and include strong, state-based enforcement efforts, backed by adequate funding."
While the decision has little impact on Alaska, which prohibits marijuana under all circumstances, there is a push to let voters decide whether marijuana should be legalized.