On June 29, 2011, Deputy Attorney General James Cole sent federal prosecutors a memo narrowing the Obama administration’s 2009 Ogden memo, warning that large commercial medical marijuana operations were not protected from federal prosecution even if they followed state law. It was the middle step in a series of Justice Department memos, from the Ogden memo of October 2009 to the better-known Cole memo of August 29, 2013, that governed how the federal government treated state-legal cannabis until Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded them on January 4, 2018.
The Weed Street Journal reported on the 2011 memo as it surfaced, when the details were still rumors. This rewrite covers the full arc of Obama-era federal policy: what each memo said, how the 2013 version let recreational markets open, and what replaced the memos after 2018. For the federal rules in force today, see our federal marijuana law guide.
What Happened
The 2011 memo, titled “Guidance Regarding the Ogden Memo in Jurisdictions Seeking to Authorize Marijuana for Medical Use,” went to all U.S. Attorneys (Justice Department PDF). It responded to cities and states that were licensing large cultivation centers and dispensaries. Cole wrote that the Ogden memo “was never intended to shield such activities from federal enforcement action and prosecution, even where those activities purport to comply with state law.” Seriously ill patients and their caregivers remained a low priority. People in the business of growing and selling marijuana, and those who knowingly helped them, did not.
The memo it narrowed came from Deputy Attorney General David Ogden on October 19, 2009 (The Telegraph). It told U.S. Attorneys in medical marijuana states not to “focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.” Many dispensary owners read that as a green light. The 2011 memo said they had read it wrong.
Why It Mattered
The 2011 memo came during an enforcement push in medical marijuana states. U.S. Attorneys in California sent warning letters and filed forfeiture actions against dispensary landlords, including the 2012 case against Harborside Health Center in Oakland. In May 2012 Time reported that the administration was going after dispensaries and growers “just as harshly” as the Bush administration, and Rep. Barney Frank said it looked “more like the Bush administration than the Clinton administration.” Advocates who had relied on Obama’s 2008 campaign remarks felt misled. Separately, the IRS determined in 2011 that Section 280E of the tax code, which bars deductions for businesses trafficking in Schedule I or II drugs, applied to dispensaries, so they could not deduct ordinary costs such as payroll and rent.
What Happened Next: The 2013 Cole Memo
After Colorado and Washington legalized adult use in November 2012, the states waited nine months for a federal answer. It came on August 29, 2013, in a new memo from Cole, “Guidance Regarding Marijuana Enforcement” (Justice Department PDF). The department said it would not sue to block the states, as The New York Times reported, and told prosecutors to focus on eight priorities:
- preventing distribution of marijuana to minors;
- preventing revenue from going to criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels;
- preventing diversion from states where it is legal to other states;
- preventing state-legal activity from being used as cover for trafficking other illegal drugs or other illegal activity;
- preventing violence and the use of firearms in cultivation and distribution;
- preventing drugged driving and other adverse public health consequences;
- preventing growing on public lands;
- preventing possession or use on federal property.
Where states had “strong and effective” regulatory systems, the memo said, federal enforcement would generally be unnecessary. On February 14, 2014, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued guidance, FIN-2014-G001, telling banks how to serve cannabis businesses by filing “marijuana limited,” “marijuana priority” or “marijuana termination” suspicious activity reports keyed to the Cole priorities (FinCEN). Congress added its own protection in December 2014, the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which bars the Justice Department from spending money to interfere with state medical marijuana programs and has been renewed in later spending bills (HuffPost).
On January 4, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole memo and the related Obama-era guidance in a one-page memo, leaving enforcement to each U.S. Attorney’s discretion (New York Times). Overall federal marijuana prosecutions in legal states declined afterward, though some cases continued. In February 2021, attorney general nominee Merrick Garland told senators he would not use department resources against people complying with state legalization laws (MJBizDaily).
Where It Stands in 2026
As of October 2026, the Cole memo has not been formally reinstated, but the policy it set, leaving state-licensed businesses alone, has largely held in practice. The bigger change is scheduling. An April 2026 Justice Department and DEA order moved marijuana held under a state medical marijuana license, and FDA-approved marijuana products, to Schedule III; adult-use and unlicensed marijuana remain in Schedule I. A DEA hearing on moving all marijuana to Schedule III was stayed on September 29, 2026, and challenges to the April order are pending in the D.C. Circuit. FinCEN’s 2014 guidance is still posted. Read more in our guides to federal law, marijuana’s drug schedule and state cannabis laws.
Ogden and Cole Memos FAQ
What was the Cole memo?
A Justice Department memo issued August 29, 2013, by Deputy Attorney General James Cole, telling federal prosecutors to focus on eight priorities, such as sales to minors and diversion to other states, rather than on state-legal cannabis businesses in well-regulated states.
What did the 2011 Cole memo say?
The June 29, 2011, memo said the 2009 Ogden memo was never meant to protect commercial cultivation and sales operations from federal prosecution, even under state law. Patients and caregivers remained a low priority.
What was the Ogden memo?
An October 19, 2009, memo from Deputy Attorney General David Ogden telling U.S. Attorneys not to focus resources on people in “clear and unambiguous compliance” with state medical marijuana laws.
Is the Cole memo still in effect?
No. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded it on January 4, 2018. Later attorneys general signaled a similar hands-off approach, and Congress’s Rohrabacher-Farr rider protects state medical programs.
Originally reported by The Weed Street Journal; rewritten and updated in October 2026 with what happened next.