Roger Stone, one of President Donald Trump’s most ardent surrogates, has publicly implored the president to back marijuana legalization—even as he blasted his U.S. attorney general for “outmoded thinking” on pot while quoting Thomas Jefferson and The Bible to justify his position.
In a blog post published on Friday, Stone called on Trump to remain true to sentiments he expressed as a presidential candidate, when he said that pot legalization should be left to the states. In recent days, however, his administration has suggested it would err on the side of stricter enforcement of marijuana laws.
That hasn’t sat well with Trump supporters like Stone, who said the president should “honor his word and keep his promise, irrespective of what his Cabinet members may say.” The Republican added that “there are so many other ways that law enforcement can be put to good use rather than to persecute harmless farmers and shopkeepers who are abiding by state law.”
Stone specifically took aim at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, writing on his website that the former Alabama Senator was “far from the mainstream” in his opposition to marijuana.
“Perhaps Attorney General Sessions has forgotten his Genesis from the Old Testament,” wrote Stone, a veteran political operative and self-described libertarian who frequently rides the television airwaves in Trump’s defense.
He quoted a verse from Genesis decreeing that mankind possessed a God-given right to “every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.”
Currently, more than half of the United States has at least partly legalized the use of marijuana, while others are inching in a similar direction. Stone cited that, as he voiced opposition to stricter enforcement by the president—a man he’s known for decades.
“The Trump administration should be mindful that the recreational marijuana measures that passed in several states all passed this same way, with overwhelming popular support,” he said. “This was clearly the Will of the People. It is not Jeff Sessions place to prosecute his version of morality and President Trump should not allow him to do so.”
Representatives from the White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
credit: 420intel.com
