Arizona Rep. Introduces Bill Protecting Medical Marijuana Program from Feds

On January 10, Arizona Rep. Mark Cardenas introduced legislation that would protect Arizona’s medical marijuana patients and employees from federal prosecution.

House Bill 2144 would prevent any state or local law enforcement agencies from assisting federal law enforcement that tries to investigate, detain or prosecute any Arizona medical marijuana patients or residents working under Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act, according to MITA.

“Last week Attorney General Jeff Sessions inexplicably attacked the growing cannabis industry nationwide, so I’m taking steps to protect 157,000 patients in Arizona who desperately need this medicine to live with debilitating illnesses like PTSD and cancer,” Cardenas said. “This move by Sessions makes no sense from a law enforcement, medical, human or economic perspective, so Arizona leaders should not just sit still and let it happen.”

In part, HB 2144 reads that Arizona state employees shall not:

…knowingly assist a federal law enforcement agency or officer in the investigation, detention or prosecution of a person for a violation of a federal law that prohibits the person from using, distributing, possessing, consuming, manufacturing or cultivating medical marijuana in this state if the person is authorized to use, distribute, possess, consume, manufacture or cultivate medical marijuana…

HB 2144 also says that Arizona cannot:

…use any assets, state monies or monies allocated by this state to political subdivisions of this state, in whole or in part, to engage in any activity that aids a federal law enforcement agency or officer or a corporation providing services to the federal law enforcement agency or officer in the investigation, detention or prosecution of a person for a violation of a federal law that prohibits the person from using, distributing, possessing, consuming, manufacturing or cultivating medical marijuana in this state if the person is authorized to use, distribute, possess, consume, manufacture or cultivate medical marijuana…

Read HB 2144 here.