WASHINGTON—In a blow to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ anti-marijuana agenda, President Trump’s omnibus spending package includes language introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to prohibit the Department of Justice and its affiliated agencies from prosecuting state-lawful and compliant medical marijuana systems, businesses, and patients.
“We are very pleased to see that neither Congress nor the White House bent to the will of Attorney General Jeff Sessions when it comes to his anti-marijuana crusade,” said Justin Strekal, political director of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) in a release. “There are 30 states that have authorized the use of medicinal cannabis, serving over two-million patients nationwide who rely on these programs. At a time when the majority of states now regulate marijuana use, and over six out of ten voters endorse outright legalizing the plant’s use by adults, it makes no sense from a political, fiscal, or cultural perspective to allow Sessions to attempt put this genie back in the bottle.”
Originally known as the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, it explicitly states that federal funds cannot be used to prevent states from “implementing their own state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana.”
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), namesake on the amendment and the co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, stated on his website: “While I’m glad that our medical marijuana protections are included, there is nothing to celebrate since Congress only maintained the status quo. These protections have been law since 2014. This matter should be settled once and for all. Poll after poll shows that the majority of Americans, across every party, strongly favor the right to use medical marijuana.
“Instead, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is doubling down on the failed War on Drugs and Republican leadership in Congress—led by Chairman Pete Sessions—is stonewalling,” continued Blumenauer. “They’re ignoring the will of the American people by blocking protections for state adult-use laws and cannabis banking. They even refused our veterans access to lifesaving medicine.”