Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his intention to aggressively pursue and increase the federal government's civil asset forfeiture known as the "Equitable Sharing Program."

The U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, has just promised to increase the federal government's civil asset forfeiture programs. In an address at the National District Attorney's Association conference in Minneapolis, MN this week, Sessions laid out his prosecutorial plans for the nation.

The gathering of district attorneys from all across the nation to meet with America's top law enforcement official was revealing, to say the least. Sessions addressed many legitimate and pressing issues facing the nation; opioid epidemic, increasing murder rate, and human trafficking. But Sessions' comments on planned confiscation of possessions of private citizens has many taking notice.

Sessions said:

In addition, we hope to issue this week a new directive on asset forfeiture—especially for drug traffickers. With care and professionalism, we plan to develop policies to increase forfeitures. No criminal should be allowed to keep the proceeds of their crime. Adoptive forfeitures are appropriate as is sharing with our partners.

Sessions has long-since considered marijuana a drug and not a plant, and his comment specifying "drug traffickers" as his primary target, has many in the medical marijuana (MMJ) industry more than a bit nervous. The DEA still classifies cannabis as a Schedule I narcotic even though 29 U.S. states have defied the DEA's definition as well as federal law and enacted MMJ laws allowing for cannabis to be used as medicine and in a few states, recreationally.