Pa. medical marijuana: Governor 'will not stand for backwards attacks' amid federal changes

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf wasted no time Thursday pushing back against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' salvo against legal marijuana. 

Sessions rescinded the Obama-era hands-off stance toward state laws that allow people to use pot for medical and recreational uses.

Within hours, Wolf vowed to protect Pennsylvania's fledgling medical marijuana program from federal "overreach."

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Wolf said, "... I will not stand for backwards attacks on the progress made in Pennsylvania to provide medicine to those in need."

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, who has proposed that the state permit recreational marijuana use, said in his own statement that Sessions "is stuck in the Dark Ages."

"He is using finite federal resources to fight a war against drugs that was lost decades ago," said Depasquale, who like Wolf is a Democrat. "He showed just how clueless he really is by comparing marijuana to heroin."

"The days of calling pot a ‘gateway drug’ are long past, and it appears Jeff Sessions wants to drag the country back into the past as well."

And the U.S attorney for Pennsylvania's Middle District said he has not intention to disrupt the state's medical marijuana business. 

More:Updated list: Here are doctors who will be able to prescribe medical marijuana in Pa.

Sessions ordered all U.S. attorneys to "enforce the laws enacted by Congress and to follow well-established principles when pursuing prosecutions related to marijuana activities."

More:How to register as a medical marijuana patient in Pennsylvania

The Republican and longtime opponent of marijuana in all forms did not directly order U.S. attorneys to begin prosecuting federal marijuana laws to the fullest extent.  

Instead, he said the policy change was a "return of trust and local control to federal prosecutors who know where and how to deploy Justice Department resources most effectively ...."

Under the Obama administration, federal prosecutors were directed to not interfere with state's legalized medical and recreational marijuana programs. There are 29 states that have legalized medical marijuana for children and adults and eight states plus Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana for adults.

There are three U.S. Attorneys offices in Pennsylvania covering the Eastern, Western and Middle districts. U.S. attorneys are responsible for the prosecution of federal crimes.

Former Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed was appointed by Trump to head the the U.S. Attorney Office for the Middle District. Freed previously said he believes marijuana is a gateway drug.

In a statement released on Thursday by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Freed said, "While I cannot state that there will never be an issue in this area meriting federal involvement, my office has no intention of disrupting Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program or related financial transactions."

Freed prefaced that statement saying, "Having been involved as a state prosecutor in the drafting of that legislation, I believe that there are sufficient safeguards in the law to ensure that the products will be used as intended under the supervision of medical professionals."

More:Pa. gun owners take notice: You could lose your guns if you use legal medical marijuana

Also on Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health authorized the first medical marijuana dispensary to begin serving registered patients as soon as the first medical marijuana is available.

More than 10,000 Pennsylvanians already have registered to be approved as medical marijuana patients.

Wolf had fired a warning shot across Sessions' bow in June, threatening legal action if he interfered in Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program.

In his statement posted on the governor's official website, Wolf said, "Despite backwards moves by the Trump administration, I will continue to protect cancer patients, kids with epilepsy, veterans with PTSD and all Pennsylvanians seeking relief from legal medical marijuana.

"In Pennsylvania, we legalized medical marijuana in an overwhelming and bipartisan fashion, and we are months away from getting this medicine to patients that need it.

“The Trump Administration must put patients’ rights first ..."

York state senator and candidate for governor Scott Wagner said Thursday that he was not up to speed on Sessions' announcement. Wagner did offer that he is "not a fan of recreational marijuana," but that he did vote in favor of the state's medical marijuana program.