In a letter to President Donald Trump (R), U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) have called on the administration to end arrests for cannabis, which they say – along with the enactment of other policies – could help the government save trillions of dollars.
The lawmakers note that ending unnecessary federal arrests and reducing waste in federal detention programs alone could save the government billions of dollars.
“The government spends billions of dollars each year on unnecessary federal enforcement actions and detention, like costly marijuana arrests despite the fact that almost half of states have legalized recreational marijuana, imprisoning elderly and terminally ill patients who pose little risk to public safety, and incarcerating people for minor technical violations of probation and parole.” — Warren and Stansbury in the letter
The letter, which focuses on what the lawmakers describe as the failures of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, notes that Warren had included the policy suggestion to Musk in January, but that he and DOGE had “ignored” them.
In addition to the criminal justice reforms, Warren and Stansbury call on the Trump
