Donald Trump is coming for weed

During a conference on Thursday Sean Spicer was asked about the president’s thought and intentions surrounding marijuana.

As the law stands, states voted to legalise medical marijuana in a November amendment. However, recreational drug use is permitted in certain other states, after the Obama administration released an official memo saying that the federal government would not interfere with states and nonmedical use.

Will the status quo continue under a Trump administration?

Press Secretary Sean Spicer said, well, no.

He reiterated that there is a distinction between medical and recreational marijuana, and admitted that while the former does ease the pain of those suffering from terminal disease, the latter is not permitted under federal law.

I think that when you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing that we should be doing is encouraging people. There is still a federal law that we need to abide by in terms of the medical -- when it comes to recreational marijuana and other drugs of that nature.

When pressed about whether the federal government will take action against recreational marijuana use in some states, Spicer was vague.

Well, I think that’s a question for the Department of Justice. I do believe that you’ll see greater enforcement of it.

According to Business Insider, the North American marijuana market had a revenue of $6.7bn (£5.4bn) this year, up 30 per cent from the year before.

More: This group are giving away 4200 joints at Trump's inauguration and smoking them

More: Smoking cannabis as a teenager damages the brain for life