US Senate Committee Votes to Prohibit DOJ from Interfering in State Medical Marijuana Laws



By Marijuana Policy Project
June 11, 2015 1:40 PM


The Senate Appropriations Committee approved an amendment Thursday that mirrors one approved last week in the House; the measures are intended to prevent the Justice Department and DEA from arresting or prosecuting patients, caregivers, and businesses that are complying with state medical marijuana laws


WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved a measure 20-10 on Thursday that is intended to prevent the federal government from interfering in state medical marijuana laws.

The amendment, offered by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) to the Senate version of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, prohibits the Justice Department, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, from using funds to interfere in the implementation of state laws that allow the cultivation, distribution, and use of marijuana for medical purposes.

It mirrors the amendment sponsored by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) that was approved last week in the House of Representatives.

Passage of identical amendments in the House and Senate typically indicates it will be included in the final spending bill Congress sends to President Obama.

This was the first time the amendment had been offered in the Senate. The House has passed it in each of the last two years, and it was codified in the so-called “CRomnibus” funding measure that became law last year. The amendment is similar to the operative provisions of the CARERS Act, introduced in March by Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Kirstin Gillibrand (D-NY).

This is the second time in as many months that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a marijuana policy reform measure. On May 21, the committee voted to allow doctors within the Veterans Affairs system to formally recommend medical marijuana to veterans.

“This is another resounding victory for medical marijuana patients, their families, and their care providers,” said Dan Riffle, director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. “Congress is making it clear that the Department of Justice and the DEA have no business interfering in state medical marijuana laws.”

“The goal of this amendment is to provide deference to the states, making it strikingly similar to the operative provisions of the CARERS Act,” added Riffle. “Unfortunately, that bipartisan bill has languished for months in the Senate Judiciary Committee because Chairman Chuck Grassley has refused to hold hearings on it. The Senate spoke loudly and clearly today. Hopefully Sen. Grassley was listening.”

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