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Proposed Spending Bill Amendment Could Extend Federal Law Enforcement Protection to Adult-Use Cannabis Businesses

Once again, the U.S. Congress is taking up a CJS Appropriations bill that contains a layer of protection for cannabis businesses.

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Once again, the U.S. Congress is taking up a Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations bill that contains a layer of protection for cannabis businesses. Whether the cannabis amendment gets through is a routine matter of debate in Washington, D.C., and this latest iteration is even more of an open question.

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Historically, the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment has conferred protection from federal law enforcement on state-licensed medical cannabis businesses. Because of its placement in the CJS bills, the amendment specifically bars 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 2014.

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Now, the measure has morphed into the Blumenauer-McClintock-Norton-Lee amendment, and it’s been written to extend that federal protection to state-licensed adult-use cannabis businesses. This latest revival of the amendment was first reported by Marijuana Moment

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“It is time for Congress to expand these important protections to adult-use legalization states,” the team at NORML wrote in a message to its audience. “Today, nearly one in four Americans reside in a jurisdiction where the adult use of cannabis is legal under state statute. This expanded language passed the House last year, but was later removed by the Senate leadership.” 

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