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By Joel Connelly, SeattlePI

When discussing marijuana legalization at Senate hearing, , Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., weightily argued: "Lady Gaga says she's addicted to it and it is not harmless." According to People mag, Gaga said that she smoked marijuana to deal with the mental and physical challenges of her career

Sessions is now U.S. Attorney General. Gov. Jay Inslee and three other governors, whose states have legalized recreational marijuana, want Sessions to keep his hands off a regulatory system that is working.

When discussing marijuana legalization at Senate hearing, , Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., weightily argued: "Lady Gaga says she's addicted to it and it is not harmless." According to People mag, Gaga said that

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is no fan of the ganja. Here's some of the things he's said on it in the past.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is no fan of the ganja. Here's some of the things he's said on it in the past.

Dosages can be constructed in a way that might be beneficial, I acknowledge that, but if you smoke marijuana for example, where you have no idea how much THC youre getting, its probably not a good way to administer a medicinal amount. So forgive me if Im a bit dubious about that.

Dosages can be constructed in a way that might be beneficial, I

As U.S. Attorney in Alabama in the 1980s, Sessions famously said he thought the KKK "were OK until I found out they smoked pot."

As U.S. Attorney in Alabama in the 1980s, Sessions famously said he thought the KKK "were OK until I found out they smoked pot."

Attorney General Sessions also called Obama's lax approach to marijuana "one of his great failures."

Attorney General Sessions also called Obama's lax approach to marijuana "one of his great failures."

Stay off our pot, Inslee and governors tell AG Sessions

The Trump Administration should keep its hands off states that have legalized recreational marijuana, Gov. Jay Inslee and three other governors said in a Monday letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The open letter asked Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to "engage with us before embarking on any changes to regulatory and enforcement systems."

The letter was signed by governors of four states where voters have legalized cannabis for recreational use: Inslee, Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon, Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska, and Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado.

Sessions railed against pot during his days as an ultraconservative senator from Alabama, taking particular exception when President Obama told an interviewer that alcohol was more dangerous than cannabis.

"Lady Gaga says she is addicted to it and it is NOT harmless," Sessions told a hearing with then-Attorney General Eric Holder.

Growing, possessing and using marijuana remains a crime under the Federal Controlled Substances Act. As AG, however, Holder fashioned a policy that let Colorado and Washington go ahead with legalizing and regulating marijuana use.

The feds laid down key conditions and stipulations, namely no cannabis trade with other states, and keep gangs out of the business.

The governors' letter calls on Sessions and Mnuchin to keep the guidelines established under Holder.

They warned that a federal crackdown on marijuana "would divert existing marijuana product into the black market."

And, the governors argued that legalization has reduced "inequitable incarceration" of peoples of color. Recent evidence shows that African-Americans were a target when the Nixon Administration launched its "War on Drugs" in 1970.

"Any forced change in federal enforcement policy will interrupt the collaborative approach we have taken with local law enforcement and the federal government," Mark Bolton, an adviser to Hickenlooper on marijuana policy, said in a statement.

"Our hope is that we can continue working with the administration to build on a regulatory system that prioritizes protecting public safety and public health."

As a recently minted grandfather, Gov. Inslee in 2012 opposed the statewide initiative that legalized recreational marijuana. The initiative passed, however, carrying counties on both sides of the Cascades.

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Stay off our pot, Inslee and governors tell AG Sessions - seattlepi.com