Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

Trump Is Absent During Big Shift on Marijuana

The Justice Department has every right to enforce the nation's laws. But the president is usually much more engaged.

January 4, 2018 at 11:06 PM UTC

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

Gone to pot.
Photographer: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision to crack down on sale of marijuana is an excellent opportunity to dwell on the mind numbing complexity of policymaking in the U.S. system of separated institutions sharing powers.

Across the nation, decisions over law enforcement are the Justice Department's to make. But in reality, those may be influenced by the president; members of Congress; any independent views of presidential nominees who lead the department; and the civil servants within the department who actually carry out policy.