Congress Blocks Feds From Targeting Medical Marijuana, Hemp Cultivation

Beta Test Team · Dec 10, 2014

There may be hope yet...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/10/congress-blocks-feds-from_n_6302530.html

States with legal hemp cultivation and medical marijuana programs just got historic support from Congress.

Included in the federal spending bill released late Tuesday are amendments that prohibit the Department of Justice from using funds to go after state medical marijuana operations and that block the Drug Enforcement Administration from using funds to interfere in state-legal industrial hemp research.

“The enactment of this legislation will mark the first time in decades that the federal government has curtailed its oppressive prohibition of marijuana and has instead taken an approach to respect the many states that have permitted the use of medical marijuana to some degree," Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), who in May introduced the medical marijuana protections amendment with co-sponsor Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), told The Huffington Post Wednesday.

“This is a victory for so many, including scores of our wounded veterans, who have found marijuana to be an important medicine for some of the ailments they suffer, such as PTSD, epilepsy and MS," Rohrabacher added.

If passed, the bill would protect medical marijuana programs in the 23 states that have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, as well as 11 additional states that have legalized CBD oils, a non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that may be therapeutically beneficial in severe cases of epilepsy.

A number of studies in recent years have shown the medical potential of cannabis. Purified forms may attack some forms of aggressive cancer. Marijuana use also has been tied to better blood sugar control and may help slow the spread of HIV.

Still, under the Obama administration, the DEA and several U.S. attorneys have raided marijuana dispensaries that complied with state laws. The DEA still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I substance with "no currently accepted medical use."

But marijuana's "sober cousin," hemp, also received protections in the spending bill. Hemp is the same plant species as marijuana -- cannabis sativa -- but it contains little to no THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana associated with the "high" sensation. The farm bill, which President Barack Obama signed into law in February, legalized industrial hemp production in states that permit it.

Eighteen states have legalized industrial hemp production, and more than a dozen others have introduced legislation that would authorize research, set up a regulatory framework or legalize the growing of industrial hemp.

The spending bill represents a last-minute effort by Congress to prevent a government shutdown after funding expires Thursday, and the medical marijuana and hemp sections are two of several political issues addressed in the omnibus bill.

“For the first time, Congress is letting states set their own medical marijuana and hemp policies, a huge step forward for sensible drug policy," said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. “States will continue to reform their marijuana laws and Congress will be forced to accommodate them. It’s not a question of if, but when, federal marijuana prohibition will be repealed."

But it wasn't all victories for marijuana in the omnibus bill. The legalization of recreational marijuana in Washington, D.C., appears to be blocked. However, some have taken issue with the language used in the bill's marijuana rider, and argue that the measure, passed by 70 percent of District voters, should be able to stand on a technicality.

m314 · Dec 10, 2014

Ending the DEA raids in medical states would be a huge step forward. That's what everyone thought would happen when Obama was elected.

primeform · Dec 11, 2014

this is huge

wildgrow · Dec 11, 2014

There is some hope.

I was telling someone the other day that I make seed in case, with the changing of the guard, the govt gives legal and med states the big ol' finger and tears it all away.

bigAl25 · Dec 11, 2014

I'm happy about this.

prune · Dec 11, 2014

The buzzkill in the fine print is that the prohibition is against spending taxpayer funds for enforcement. My guess is that they will continue to thumb their noses at the will of the people by using forfeiture funds to continue their reign of terror...

WelderDan · Dec 11, 2014

The Government really can't ignore it too much longer. There is a lot of money to be made here, and we all know it's money that greases the skids. Once big investors decide they can make big money in the cannabis industry, the government will comply. They will do what their corporate paymasters tell them to do.

Jhhnn · Dec 11, 2014

wildgrow said:
There is some hope.

I was telling someone the other day that I make seed in case, with the changing of the guard, the govt gives legal and med states the big ol' finger and tears it all away.

It's way too late for that. There's no way anybody can turn back the breakout legalization schemes enacted in several states, certainly not prior to 2017. More likely never, given how well legalization overwhelms the lies supporting prohibition. Congress doesn't really care about cannabis- they just care which way the wind is blowing. At this point, even the most conservative will have to settle for being able to maintain oppression in their little backward corners of the country, at least for awhile. It's still a shitty deal for cannabists who live there, but at least success in more enlightened locales empowers them to seek the same in their own.

Eighths-n-Aces · Dec 11, 2014

they don't have the money to fuck with us anymore

changes the game for us, but it aint exactly a good sign

Jhhnn · Dec 11, 2014

Eighths-n-Aces said:
they don't have the money to fuck with us anymore

changes the game for us, but it aint exactly a good sign

I don't understand that last part. Please explain.

m314 · Dec 11, 2014

prune said:
The buzzkill in the fine print is that the prohibition is against spending taxpayer funds for enforcement. My guess is that they will continue to thumb their noses at the will of the people by using forfeiture funds to continue their reign of terror...

Well that would suck. That would motivate them to do more raids to have the money to stay in business. I don't know what's going to happen, but I hope it's not that.

Sam_Skunkman · Dec 11, 2014

I thought the new Federal spending bill has not yet been passed or ratified?
It will be interesting to see what will happen if anything to the DEA when they go around the ban by using other funds then the taxpayers, like forfeiture funds or other funds? To go after hemp or medical Cannabis, if it is passed?
As long as the DEA is alive they will fight normalizing Cannabis, they are not stupid, or not so stupid to let Cannabis out of their grip, and into the mainstream, where would all their drug bust stats go, as well as their funding which is tied to busts and seizures? Without Cannabis to arrest their funding will dry up as well as the DEA.
-SamS

m314 · Dec 11, 2014

The DEA shouldn't be around in the first place. If they're eventually forced to stop going after marijuana (through federal legalization), they'll keep going after other drugs and other drug users. It would be nice if we could elect someone who'd do away with the DEA completely. Wishful thinking, I know.

I don't think all drugs should be normalized like cannabis. Some are good, some are bad. It should be up to individual adults to decide what they want to do with their lives.

Eighths-n-Aces · Dec 11, 2014

Eighths-n-Aces said:
they don't have the money to fuck with us anymore

changes the game for us, but it aint exactly a good sign

Jhhnn said:
I don't understand that last part. Please explain.

OK

our government doesn't have the money to be chasing peaceful stoners around any more. =changes the game for us

our government is so far in debt at this point that the bills can't be paid anymore and their solution (like it has been for 40+ years) is to go further into debt. = aint exactly a good sign

rhinoman 1 · Dec 11, 2014

I have to agree with Prune, and Sam. Here in Mi. They just brought in a "expert in forfeitures" at the federal level. So what would that mean? Not to mention the 20 mill they took this year.

Jhhnn · Dec 11, 2014

Meh. Forfeiture funds are, in fact, taxpayers' money allocated by law in how they're distributed. They're also a drop in the bucket compared to funding appropriated by Congress, currently approaching $1B for the DEA.

Between the Obama Admin's enforcement guidelines & now Congress, the DEA is pretty well hemmed in wrt respecting state marijuana law. The catch is that some state law is quite nebulous & downright contradictory, leaving them with exploitable loopholes. We've seen that in CA & WA wrt MMJ, and we'll continue to see federal enforcement against people who use state law as cover for production destined for interstate transport. We'll continue to see enforcement against imports. We'll continue to see state & federal cooperation in states where cannabis remains illegal.

Congress has been forced to act by both state govts & the executive branch. I wouldn't expect more from them until more of the same pressure is applied. More MMJ states. More legalized states. More effort to replace our political foes with potential allies. More money & more activism. More positive media coverage. More statistical evidence that legalization is superior public policy.

By the time the 2016 election rolls around, the evidence will be overwhelming.

Beta Test Team · Dec 11, 2014

Sam_Skunkman said:
I thought the new Federal spending bill has not yet been passed or ratified?

It's a must-pass bill to prevent government shutdown. The Senate could try to strip out the rider, like they are with other issues, but that's not going to happen. So it's a done deal.

About asset forfeiture, it's my understanding that's more a state level thing, that is, it's mostly the local and state cops that get most those asset forfeiture, except in big cases where the DEA would be involved. However, there is talk in Congress about dialing back asset forfeiture.

Eighths-n-Aces · Dec 11, 2014

WaittillIdie said:
They would rather play little games for 40 MOREyears than sign a paper that ends prohibition.

fixed it

i have VERY little faith in our politicians

Beta Test Team · Dec 11, 2014

WaittillIdie said:
Beta Test Team said:

It's a must-pass bill to prevent government shutdown.

Click to expand...

That's just what they want you to think. They are the cause of the shutdown not the pot smokers. They would rather shut down the Gov't like they did last year then end the 1 trillion dollar fraud called the drug war. They would rather play little games for 40 years than sign a paper that ends prohibition.

They are the cause of their own shutdown, not the people.

They caused inflation also.

I think you may be reading into that sentence something that isn't there.

No one is claiming that rider, or drugs, are the cause of the shutdown last year, nor if there was a shutdown this year. And without getting into politics, there is about nil chance of another shutdown this year.

Jhhnn · Dec 11, 2014

WaittillIdie said:
The gov't might not but the laws still remain on the books and the LEO do have the resources to enforce and still do until that changes. Of course it depends on what prohibition ville you live in and also the officer if he is tired of enforcing a bogus law and is informed. Most these cops get off on it. They are like addicted to the drug war.

Jhhnn: If I were to go out next spring and throw 10 female plants in my yard I would have 30 cops and a helicopter and no house within a matter of minutes. They spent 1 trillion dollars on what? Making everyone's lives miserable. Making sure the drug war goes on so they can have more inmates and bust.

Did you see that drug war clock website, it keeps going up.
Money Spent on the War On Drugs this Year

Who is doing this? It is certainly not the intelligent American people. It's like they are siphoning money all these years for their own drug war game at the expense of the tax payers.

We have a major problem with this. We can't wait another 8 years for a president to just sit on his hands instead of sign a paper to end it.

Who is running? Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush, Shit Romney, George Clinton, Elite Kerry, Obama the 3rd? I'd vote for George Clinton the musician or If Dave Cheppelle was running.

These people should all be barred from running.

Is Ron Paul running or his son. I'd vote for Rand only if he put it in writing and not in pencil with his left hand that he will end it as soon as he is voted in.

So much negativity. Few people seem to appreciate the impact that outright legalization in some states is having on others. CO legalization is one of the most closely watched social & legal changes ever undertaken. It was greeted with both fanfare & predictions of Doom. With the blessing of the Obama Admin, we're creating a whole new paradigm simply because we are revealing the truth about cannabis in an undeniable way.

We're taking away the fear of the unknown, overwhelming the myths of prohibition with real data & honest facts. We're absolutely crushing it by any objective standard, something that will be verified & very widely publicized once a full year's data is compiled. I doubt it'll be any different in WA, OR, or AK.

I figure the smartest people on the other side already know they're losing badly, for good reason, but they'll beat the cash & the votes out of it as long as they can.

Congress Blocks Feds From Targeting Medical Marijuana, Hemp Cultivation

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