US EditionUS prosecutor in Wyoming promises crackdown on pot in national parks and on other public lands
The enforcement reverses Biden-era pardons that applied to over 6,000 people and aims to address marijuana as a public safety hazard on federal lands, officials said.
- On Thursday, Wyoming's U.S. Attorney Darin Smith announced national park rangers will rigorously enforce federal statutes banning marijuana possession on federal land, reversing the Biden-era non-prosecution policy.
- A Department of Justice memo last month prompted Smith's announcement as this administration views marijuana use as a public-safety hazard, and Smith will uphold the law to ensure safety.
- Wyoming is home to two busy national parks, Yellowstone and Grand Teton, which draw more than 8 million visitors while pot shops sit about a 20-minute drive from park borders.
- The change could revive misdemeanor prosecutions and returns discretion to federal prosecutors and rangers, though enforcement depends on resource constraints and prosecutorial discretion.
- The Interior Department announced Friday it is recruiting 500 officers for the National Park Service, which may expand enforcement capacity, while NORML and NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano called vigorous prosecutions a misplaced use of resources amid the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Schedule I classification of marijuana.
30 Articles
30 Articles
Trump’s welcome marijuana crackdown
Despite millions of dollars spent by the marijuana industry, the Trump administration is cracking down on the drug, closing loopholes that have let the industry expand banefully in states that have not legalized it, and stepping up prosecutions of those who use it on federal lands. This summer, reports surfaced that President Donald Trump had been telling donors he was considering moving marijuana from Schedule I — the strictest category under t…
Associated Press News
US prosecutor in Wyoming promises crackdown on pot in national parks and on other public lands
A federal prosecutor in Wyoming pledges to “rigorously” prosecute people for small amounts of marijuana in national parks and on other public lands. Wyoming U.S.
Marijuana users upset Trump will harsh their national park mellow, prosecute for possession
National Park rangers will start “rigorously” enforcing statutes outlawing simple possession of marijuana in Wyoming’s federal reserves, reversing a Biden-era policy, Wyoming’s U.S. Attorney Darin Smith announced Thursday. “Marijuana possession remains a federal crime in the United States, irrespective of varying state laws,” Smith said in a statement. Enforcement will be rigorous on federal land, “such as national parks,” Smith’s statement read…
Marijuana Moment
US Attorney Will Begin 'Rigorously' Prosecuting People For Marijuana On Federal Land After Trump DOJ Rescinds Biden-Era Guidance
A U.S. attorney’s office says it will now begin “rigorously” prosecuting people over simple possession or use of marijuana on federal lands after the Trump administration rescinded Biden-era guidance that advised against taking such legal actions. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming said in a press release on Thursday that the Justice Department “rescinded previous guidance concerning the prosecution of simple marijuana posses…
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