As the Biden administration moves forward with its proposal to reschedule marijuana, congressional researchers are highlighting divergent federal court interpretations of an existing policy protecting state medical cannabis programs from Justice Department intervention.
In a Legal Sidebar from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) that was published on Thursday, analysts also laid out additional considerations for Congress, including possibly clarifying the intent of the appropriations rider that provides the medical marijuana protections—or legalizing cannabis altogether.
The report first provided an overview of the longstanding spending bill rider covering DOJ that prevents the department from using its funds to interfere in state medical marijuana programs, with a focus on how different federal courts have ruled on the scope of those protections.
"On its face, the appropriations rider bars DOJ from taking legal action against the states directly in order to prevent them from promulgating or enforcing medical marijuana laws," CRS said of the policy, which was first enacted in 2014. "In addition, federal courts have interpreted the rider to prohibit certain federal prosecutions of private individuals or organizations that produce, distribute, or possess marijuana in accordance with state medical marijuana laws."
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