Could Colorado’s Economy be in trouble? U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recently attacked the legalization of marijuana, potentially creating an issue for  Colorado, since marijuana has been legalized in Colorado since 2014.

Colorado collected over $10 million in marijuana retail sales in the first four months of legalization. Although there are some major benefits coming from legalized marijuana, such as the $40 million of tax revenue that is earmarked for public schools and infrastructure, Sessions focuses instead on the “negative” aspects of marijuana. Sessions says “marijuana is as, if anything, more dangerous than heroin.”

Studies show that over 12,000 people have overdosed on heroin and none have overdosed from marijuana. Sessions said, “The Department must be in a position to use all laws available to combat the transnational drug organizations and dangerous drug traffickers who threaten American lives.”

What Sessions may not realize is that legal weed has created 18,005 full-time jobs in Colorado and added about $2.4 billion to the state’s economy last year, according to an analysis from the Marijuana Policy Group (MPG) shows. Sadly, Sessions appears blind to the benefits marijuana has had in Colorado and other states and continues to attack the legalization of marijuana.

Though Sessions blames crime that marijuana brings to states where marijuana is legal for his desire to change legalization, according to Uniform Crime Reporting data for Denver, there has been a 10.1% decrease in overall crime from this time last year and a 5.2% drop in violent crime. This is to some extent a result of arrests for possession of marijuana no longer being a crime unless the person is underage or under the influence of marijuana.

So is this the smartest move for Sessions to attack the legalization of marijuana? If Sessions is to succeed, thousands of jobs and hundreds of businesses that are involved in the marijuana industry will be lost. Colorado has handled legalization responsibly and been successful. Why mess with success?