Jeff Sessions 'appears intent on taking us back to the 1980s' and the 'War on Drugs'

Attorney General Jeff Sessions vowed on Wednesday to ramp up enforcement of drug crimes to combat what he says is a nationwide increase in violent crime, a move some experts say channels the "drug war" era of the 1980s.

Sessions delivered a speech to law enforcement officers in Richmond, Virginia, where he touted the effectiveness of Project Exile, a two-decade old program that enforced mandatory minimum sentences on felons caught carrying firearms.

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My fear is that this surge in violent crime is not a 'blip,' but the start of a dangerous new trend," Sessions said. "I worry that we risk losing the hard-won gains that have made America a safer and more prosperous place."

Sessions outlined three main ways to fight the "scourge" of drugs: criminal enforcement, treatment, and prevention. He highlighted prevention campaigns — including Nancy Reagan's "Just say No" efforts — as effective tools for bringing down rates of drug use.

The results of "Just Say No," and similar abstinence-oriented prevention campaigns like D.A.R.E, are mixed. A 2007 study from the University of Missouri, St. Louis found that the programs are mostly over-funded and ineffective.

However, a 2011 study, cited by Scientific American, from the University of Texas School of Public Health found that certain abstinence programs can be effective, provided they reinforce the lessons over a multi-year time period.

Taking it back to the 80s

Criminal justice and drug policy experts say that Sessions' focus on cracking down on drug offenders is an unwise strategy borne out of the "War on Drugs" era of the '80s and '90s.

"He appears intent on taking us back to the 1980's with his drug war rhetoric," Collins told Business Insider. "Locking up more people exacerbates the problem."

Marc Schindler, the executive director of the Justice Policy Institute, criticized Sessions support of Project Exile, which he called "political will" to remove bheavily penalizes gun offenders, according to Schindler, but does nothing to stem the flow of guns into cities and neighborhoods.

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The research on Project Exile is far from clear. FiveThirtyEight has the rundown: A 2003 study found that in Richmond, Virginia — where Sessions gave his speech — the city would have experienced a similar reduction in homicide rates with or without Exile.

But, a 2009 study found evidence supporting Exile's efficacy. Among the sample group, cities with high levels of federal prosecution for federal gun crimes experienced a 13% decrease in violent crimes, compared to an 8% increase in cities that didn't, even when controlling for other factors like incarceration rates and poverty.

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Sessions honed in on his opposition to legalizing marijuana on Wednesday, saying that he "realizes this may be unfashionable in

Though he's opposed to marijuana legalization, Sessions did tell reporters after his remarks that he may keep the Obama-era Cole Memo — which directs the Justice Department to place a low priority on prosecuting legal marijuana businesses that comply with state laws — though with some modifications, reports MassRoots' Tom Angell.

Sessions indicated that the federal government may not have the ability to enforce federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized.

Mason Tvert, the communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, told Business Insider in an email that Sessions' comments do not seem like a "call to shut down" licensed and regulated marijuana businesses.

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Jeff Sessions 'appears intent on taking us back to the 1980s' and the 'War on Drugs'

Taking it back to the 80s

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