Congress Passes Spending Bill, Extends Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment Until Feb. 8

Monday’s decision ends the federal government shutdown, keeps the key medical marijuana protection intact and funds the government for three more weeks.

January 23, 2018
Melissa Schiller

Legislation and regulation News Politics

Congress voted Monday to pass a spending bill to fund the federal government through Feb. 8, ending a three-day government shutdown and keeping the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, a key medical marijuana industry protection, intact for three more weeks.

UPDATE: Rohrabacher-Blumenaeur Amendment Survives Another Government Shutdown And Short-Term Spending Bill

Lawmakers have passed three short-term spending deals since Oct. 1, and the U.S. Senate failed to pass a spending bill Jan. 19 to avert a government shutdown due to Congressional debates over children’s health care and immigration policies. Lawmakers now have until Feb. 8 to reach an agreement and pass a permanent spending bill for 2018 that may or may not include the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer protection.

The Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), was first approved in 2014 and prevents the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) from using federal funds to prosecute state-compliant medical marijuana operators in states that have legal cannabis programs. It has been included in every budget deal passed in Congress since its introduction.

In the wake of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ rescission of the federal policy outlined in the Cole Memo and DOJ and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) memos that protected state-legal cannabis businesses and the banks that work with them, lawmakers have introduced several pieces of legislation to secure more permanent protections for the cannabis industry.

U.S. Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and other members of Congress sponsored the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act to apply many of the same statutes found in the Cole Memo; U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Don Young (R-AK) introduced the REFER Act, a similar bill that would prohibit the federal government from spending money on the prosecution of state-legal marijuana businesses; U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) announced legislation that would let states decide how to enforce their own marijuana laws and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) Marijuana Justice Act that would remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Top image: © doncon402 | Adobe Stock

Illinois Lawmakers Hold 4th Hearing on Marijuana Legalization

During the joint committee hearing in Chicago, testimony illuminated both the pros and cons of allowing those 21 and older to possess an ounce of marijuana, as well as taxation and regulation.

January 23, 2018
ABC News

Legislation and regulation News State by State: Illinois

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Illinois lawmakers held their fourth public hearing Monday morning about legalizing marijuana, which provided some legislators with input to help them create a new bill that will be proposed in early February.

During the joint committee hearing in Chicago, testimony illuminated both the pros and cons of allowing anyone over the age of 21 to have an ounce of marijuana on them, as well as taxing and regulating the drug. Even lawmakers who support such a proposal have varying motivation.

"The goal is to reduce black market, keep teens away and bring in revenue to a safe and secure environment," said state Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said her support is not about revenue, but about ending racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

"Rarely do we see white college students or young professionals, suburban high school students or their prosperous parents arrested or detained for the use or possession of marijuana," she said.

Virginia Marijuana Advocates Disappointed by Proposed Bill, Refocusing Agenda

The state's Senate majority leader introduced legislation that eliminates jail time for first-offense possession but falls short of decriminalization.

January 23, 2018
WTVR

Legislation and regulation News Politics State by State: Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. – Marijuana law reform advocates are refocusing their agenda after Virginia’s Senate majority leader introduced a bill that eliminates jail time for first-offense possession but falls short of decriminalization—a concept he earlier said he would support.

Under the bill by Sen. Thomas Norment Jr., R-James City, first-time marijuana possession offenders would be fined but also have a chance to have their records expunged. It isn’t the decriminalization bill Norment told The Virginian-Pilot he supported last November. But a spokesperson for the majority leader now says such a bill, which could have made first-time possession a civil offense, would have little chance of passing the House of Delegates.

“It’s a disappointment to thousands of Virginians and particularly to his constituents, who were looking for him to be the leader on this issue,” said Jenn Michelle Pedini, executive director of Virginia NORML, a marijuana reform advocacy group.

Reform advocates, who gathered at the Virginia 2018 Cannabis Conference in Richmond on Sunday and Monday, said they support the bill despite it not going far enough, but are now focusing their attention on legislation including a measure by Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, that would expand the use of medical cannabis in Virginia.