Steven D'Angelo's Harborside Health Center in Oakland, California, was a target of the federal government.<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ghalog/7635700844/in/photolist-atMmwd-atMmxW-82KGeG-atJFCn-atJFPK-atMn1y-atJFNe-atJFwZ-atMn3h-atMmzJ-atJFoa-atJFX4-8hSqCv-9k5rc1-cCJXQy-eSV67V-9WDpXX-9RHaxs-dE8Qxg-9vrJvf-pfH38M-7gNZEN-aqk9cq-aqhsDT-8oe51f-p7BNZh-p9DQCF-p7BNPh-p9BVZd-oSa6n9-oS9z2P-p9BVQq-oSa6Bs-drBhsg-7b6Ukb-p9ohmn-p7BPZJ-oSaCxH-p9oiGZ-oS9yUz-p9DQSZ-oS9yft-k4KF-9tbjRT-wyiQ-o6jDeQ-7Assgm-cTKkWb-eFV9TA-oCpQPs">Glen Halog</a>/Flickr
Good news for medical pot smokers: The $1.1 trillion federal spending bill approved by the Senate on Saturday has effectively ended the longstanding federal war on medical marijuana. An amendment to the bill blocks the Department of Justice from spending money to prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries or patients that abide by state laws.
“Patients will have access to the care legal in their state without fear of federal prosecution,” Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), a supporter of the rider known as the Hinchey-Rohrbacher amendment, said in a statement. “And our federal dollars will be spent more wisely on fighting actual crimes and not wasted going after patients.”
The Department of Justice last year pledged not to interfere with the implementation of state pot laws, but the agency’s truce left it with plenty of room to change its mind. Earlier this year, for instance, the DOJ accused the Kettle Falls Five, a family in Washington State, of growing 68 marijuana plants on their farm in Eastern Washington, where pot is legal. Members of the family face up to 10 years in jail—or at least, they did; the amendment may now stop their prosecution.
More broadly, the change provides some added peace of mind for pot patients in California, where the DOJ’s pledge appeared not to apply. The Golden State’s 1996 medical pot law, the first in the nation, has long been criticized by the DOJ as too permissive and decentralized.
Medical marijuana activists hailed the amendment’s passage as a landmark moment for patients’ rights. “By approving this measure, Congress is siding with the vast majority of Americans who are calling for change in how we enforce our federal marijuana laws,” said Mike Liszewski, Government Affairs Director for Americans for Safe Access.
The CRomnibus spending bill wasn’t a universal victory of marijuana advocates, however. Another rider aims to prevent the District of Columbia from legalizing marijuana; it prohibits federal funds being “used to enact any law, rule, or regulation to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any schedule I substance.” But Reason‘s Jacob Sullum notes that the rider may be moot because DC’s pot law has already been “enacted” by voters—it passed at the polls in November by a 2-to-1 margin.
Whatever the outcome in DC, the appropriations bill is an undisputed win for pot smokers. As Slate‘s Josh Voorhes points out, “the District is home to roughly 640,000 people; California, one of 23 states were medical pot is legal, is home to more than 38 million.” In short, Congress has done a bit of temporary weed whacking in its backyard, but it’s acknowledging that stopping the repeal of pot prohibitions by the states is all but impossible.
