66 Congress Members Plea to Keep Protections for Medical Marijuana States

The federal appropriations bill expires on December 8, and with it the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment also expires as it was not included in the House version. Last week, 66 members of Congress signed a letter that was sent to House and Senate leadership urging them to keep this protection in place. The letter also noted 46 states, 2 U.S. territories and Washington D.C. as having some form of medical marijuana legalization.

The letter is addressed to Senate majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Charles Schumer, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi, according to The Cannabist. The amendment has been in place since December 2014. The letters says that the amendment “has successfully protected patients, providers, and businesses against federal prosecution, so long as they act within the confines of their state’s medical marijuana laws.”

For the first time in industry history, a California judge cited the Rohrabacher- Blumenauer amendment when suspending cases involving two men (who both plead guilty) charged with federal conspiracy to manufacture and cell marijuana earlier this year.

Cases stemming back to 2015 have notes or acknowledgement that taxpayer money shouldn’t have been spent on them.

The Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment was approved for the Senate’s version of the appropriations bill, but wasn’t included in the House version.