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Thus far into his presidency, President Trump has largely ignored the legalization of recreational marijuana. But during his daily press conference Thursday, press secretary Sean Spicer signaled that might be changing.

鈥淚 do believe you鈥檒l see greater enforcement of it,鈥� said Mr. Spicer. He suggested that President Trump views medical marijuana in a more forgiving light: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 very different than recreational use, which is something the Department of Justice will be further looking into.鈥澛�

Eight states 鈥� Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Maine 鈥� and Washington, D.C. have legalized both medicinal and recreational marijuana. The Obama administration had opted not to enforce federal prohibitions in states that had passed legislation legalizing the drug.

A course reversal by the Trump administration would be as simple as repealing a four-page directive issued by then-Deputy Attorney General聽James M. Cole in August 2013. Regardless of the fact that marijuana is illegal at the federal level, the so-called Cole Memo essentially instructs a hands-off approach by the federal government in states that have voted on laws to legalize marijuana.聽

On the same day as Spicer鈥檚 comments, on Americans鈥� opinion of marijuana legalization. According to the poll, 59 percent of Americans say marijuana should be made legal across the United States, with majorities of only Republicans and Americans over the age of 65 opposed. However, 71 percent of Americans said they believe the government should not enforce federal laws against marijuana in states that have already legalized recreational or medical marijuana. And voters in every demographic 鈥� including Republicans 鈥� supported this statement.

President Trump has issued differing stances on marijuana legalization. In the 1990s, Trump told the Miami Herald that the US needed to 鈥溾�� the war on drugs. And in an interview with Fox News鈥檚 Bill O鈥橰eilly a year ago, Trump said he was in favor of medical marijuana 鈥溾�� while also calling Colorado鈥檚 recreational marijuana industry 鈥渁 real problem.鈥�

鈥淚t looks like the first shoe is dropping as expected,鈥� Ethan Nadelmann, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, . 鈥淭rump was never all that reassuring on the issue of marijuana legalization.鈥�

But even before Spicer鈥檚 press conference Thursday, legalization advocates feared the president would shift in this direction. Trump鈥檚 nomination of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general spoke for itself, they say.

Kevin Sabet, the president of the anti-legalization advocacy group Smart Approaches to Marijuana and a drug policy staffer under the Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama administrations, says Mr. Sessions has been 鈥�the single biggest opponent to legalization in the US Senate.鈥澛�

鈥淲e all wondered whether the Trump presidency would be 鈥榮tates rights鈥� or 鈥榣aw and order鈥� when it comes to drugs,鈥� Dr. Sabet told the Monitor in November, after Sessions鈥� nomination. 鈥淭he Sessions pick makes many of us think it will be the latter.鈥�

In the 1980s, Sessions said he thought the Ku Klux Klan 鈥渨as OK until I found out they smoked pot,鈥� which he has said was a joke. And as recently as April, Sessions called marijuana 鈥渁 real danger,鈥� adding that 鈥�.鈥澛�

But some federal legislators are skeptical that Trump will walk back legislation already approved in eight states and Washington, D.C.聽

鈥淕o against millions of supporters, against states鈥� rights, against where the public is?鈥� Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D) of Oregon said聽. 鈥淚t would be the beginning of tremendous problems for the Trump administration that they don鈥檛 need.鈥澛�

During his press conference Thursday, Spicer also suggested marijuana had a role to play in opioid addiction, despite a lack of clinical evidence of such a link.

鈥淚 think that when you see the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we should be doing is encouraging people. There is still a federal law we need to abide by in terms of .鈥澛�

This report contains material from Reuters and the Associated Press.