The Weekly is a rundown of news by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission highlighting the week’s top news stories from the public square and providing commentary on the big issues of our day.

Justice Department Ends Policy That Allowed Legal Marijuana to Flourish

On Monday, California became the latest—and largest—state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. But yesterday Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded a policy introduced by the Obama administration that allowed states to legalize the drug.

Federal law regulates marijuana (i.e., all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not) under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The government classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, the highest classification for substances with a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.

In 2013 the Obama administration issued a memo to the Department of Justice’s U.S. attorneys directing federal prosecutors to focus on eight areas of enforcement rather than spending time targeting individual users. The memo did not change the CSA but allowed for broad prosecutorial discretion in deciding whether to enforce federal laws related to marijuana.

Sessions rescinded that policy and issued his own memo, which states that, “In deciding which marijuana activities to prosecute under these laws with the Department’s finite resources, prosecutors should follow the well-established principles that govern all federal prosecutions.” A press release from the Justice Department also said, “This return to the rule of law is also a return of trust and local control to federal prosecutors who know where and how to deploy Justice Department resources most effectively to reduce violent crime, stem the tide of the drug crisis, and dismantle criminal gangs.”

It’s unclear how much the new policy will affect the medical marijuana industry. Currently, the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment prohibits the Justice Department from spending funds to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws. The amendment, which has to be renewed every year, expires January 19.

It’s also unclear how the policy change will affect the eight states and the District of Columbia which currently allow recreational use and possession of small amounts of the drug.

This week on ERLC podcasts: Daniel Darling talks to Robby Gallaty about the importance of discipleship. On the Capitol Conversations podcast, Matt Hawkins and Travis Wussow talk to Lauren and Michael McAfee about the Museum of the Bible. And on the new ERLC podcast series, “How to Handle,” Trillia Newbell talks to Kimberly Wagner about thriving through marriage struggles.

Other Issues

American Culture

Marijuana's 'human toll' anticipated in Calif.
David Roach, Baptist Press

As legal recreational marijuana sales began in California Jan. 1, Gateway Seminary President Jeff Iorg bemoaned the increased "human toll" the drug is likely to have on America's most populous state.

California becomes the largest state to legalize recreational marijuana
Jeva Lange, The Week

At midnight, California became the most populous state in the country to legalize marijuana after voters overwhelmingly approved the drug for recreational use in November 2016.

The poorest Americans are 12 times as likely to be sexually assaulted as the wealthiest
Leah Fessler, Quartz

Overlooking their experiences isn’t just unrepresentative, it’s an injustice.

Bioethics

How an abortion clinic became a medical center for the poor
Christine Rousselle, Catholic News Service

Most of the patients served by the clinic do not know about the building’s past use, but all of the volunteer workers are aware of its former life.

Physicians Cannot Serve Both Death and Life
Gerard T. Mundy, Public Discourse

A physician cannot truly and wholeheartedly work toward bringing his patient to health if he can choose at any time to give up that pursuit and suggest rather that the patient choose death instead.

This Marine Veteran Just Died of Cancer at 36. Here’s Why He Fought Assisted Suicide.
The Daily Signal

“I was depressed. I was going through difficulty at that point. I needed counseling, I needed care, not assisted suicide pills,” J.J. Hanson, who died Dec. 30 at age 36, told The Daily Signal last year about a time in his life after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Christianity and Culture

‘Do Not Be Discouraged’: YouVersion Bible App Tops 300 Million Downloads
Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, Christianity Today

Ten verses get shared every second on the world’s most-clicked Scripture program. Here are the most popular of 2017.

Family Issues

How “Family-Friendly” is the Tax Reform Law?
Patrick Brown, Institute for Family Studies

Families may have gotten as much benefit out of the tax reform law as political realities allow.

Religious Liberty

FEMA broadens churches' access to disaster funds
Josh Gerstein, Politico

President Donald Trump pushed for the policy change after Hurricane Harvey.

Christian bakers lose in Oregon appeals court
Tom Strode, Baptist Press

Christian wedding vendors who decline to provide services for same-sex ceremonies have suffered another legal setback.

Sexuality Issues

Court Refuses To Block School's Transgender Rest Room Policy
Howard Friedman, Religion Clause

In Students & Parents for Privacy v. United States Department of Education, (ND IL, Dec. 29, 2017), an Illinois federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendation and refused to block a school district from allowing transgender students to use the restrooms and locker rooms of the gender with which they identify.