Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch said that she does not believe that marijuana should be legalized, in contrast to President Barack Obama's more relaxed view of the issue.
"Do you support the legalization of marijuana?" asked Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama Wednesday during her confirmation hearing,
The Hill is reporting.
"Senator, I do not," she said, in response.
The Alabama Republican cited a
January 2014 interview Obama did with The New Yorker, in which he said that he views marijuana "as a bad habit and a vice, not very different form the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life. I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol."
Lynch said that she does not "hold that view and [doesn't] agree with that view of marijuana," adding that she thinks "that the president was speaking from his personal experience and personal opinion, neither of which I'm able to share.
"But I can tell you that not only do I not support legalization of marijuana, it's not the position of the Department of Justice currently to support the legalization, nor would it be the position should I be confirmed as attorney general," she added.
In an interview Obama did with three YouTube stars on Jan. 23,
the president said that pot will likely become legal in more states and that it's not something the government will "spend a lot of resources" enforcing.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.