The Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which prevents the U.S. Department of Justice from spending funds to interfere with state medical marijuana laws, was included in the budget resolution that was released last night.
The amendment renewal extends protections until September, 2017 and also includes language that supports industrial hemp research as well, which is allowed under Section 7606 of the 2014 Farm Bill.
The Rohrabacher-Farr amendment was first passed in 2014, by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who introduced this legislation in 2003, along with colleagues Sam Farr & Maurice Hinchey. Their intention was to prohibit the use of state resources to prosecute legal businesses that were passed on the state level.
Neil Demers, CEO of Frost Denver Dispensary a dispensary in Colorado said, “I’m very happy that congress is including the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment in its spending packaging. This will offer protections to the continually developing medical marijuana industry, which is desperately looking for stability in an unstable political climate. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer protections to adult-use, recreational cannabis like we were hoping for. Rohrabacher-Farr amendment is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, Attorney General Sessions and the Department of Justice can still interfere with state’s rights, and any states that have implemented, or will be implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of adult-use recreational marijuana.”
H/T: High Times
