Rand Paul Pushes Marijuana Amendments On Funding Bill

As Congress works to end a federal government shutdown that began at midnight on Friday, a Republican senator is trying to insert marijuana into the process.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has filed two far-reaching cannabis amendments that he wants to be part of a deal to reopen the government.

One measure would prevent the Justice Department from interfering with state recreational legalization and medical cannabis laws, a big concern in the wake of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s recent rescission of Obama-era guidance that has generally allowed local marijuana policies to be implemented without federal harassment:

                                ______
                                 
  SA 1910. Mr. PAUL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill H.R. 195, to amend title 44, United States Code, to 
restrict the distribution of free printed copies of the Federal 
Register to Members of Congress and other officers and employees of the 
United States, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the 
table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:
       Sec. __.  None of the funds made available by this Act to 
     the Department of Justice may be used, with respect to any of 
     the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, 
     Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, 
     Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, 
     Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, 
     Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New 
     York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, 
     Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, 
     Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, 
     Wisconsin, and Wyoming, to prevent the State from 
     implementing State laws that authorize the use, distribution, 
     possession, or cultivation of marijuana on non-Federal lands 
     within the respective jurisdiction of the State.
                                 ______

Paul’s other amendment concerns the ability of banks to open accounts for marijuana businesses without running afoul of federal regulators:

                                ______
                                 
  SA 1909. Mr. PAUL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill H.R. 195, to amend title 44, United States Code, to 
restrict the distribution of free printed copies of the Federal 
Register to Members of Congress and other officers and employees of the 
United States, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the 
table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:
       Sec. __.  None of the funds made available by this Act may 
     be used by the Department of Justice for activities that are 
     not in compliance with the February 14, 2014, Department of 
     Justice memorandum from James M. Cole, Deputy Attorney 
     General, entitled ''Guidance Regarding Marijuana Financial 
     Crimes'', and the memoranda incorporated therein.
                                 ______

A top Treasury Department official testified before senators this week that the Trump administration is currently weighing whether to tear up an Obama-era memo on cannabis banking in line with Sessions’s move to rescind the broader Justice Department guidance on state marijuana laws.

Feds Reviewing Marijuana Banking Protections

It is unclear if either of Paul’s amendments will actually be considered and voted on as part of a deal to re-open the federal government following the Friday shutdown.

The lapse in spending legislation has put medical cannabis patients and providers at greater risk because an existing protection preventing the Justice Department from undermining medical marijuana laws has now expired, but drug enforcement has not. Under a federal contingency plan, anti-drug agents and prosecutors are exempt from furlough.

If Congress passes another bill to fund the government, the medical cannabis protections will go back into effect through whatever date to which the legislation continues spending levels. People complying with broader full-scale marijuana legalization laws will remain at risk of federal enforcement actions, however, unless Paul’s relevant amendment is adopted.

Earlier this week, House leaders effectively blocked an amendment to protect state marijuana laws from federal interference from being considered on the floor.

Congress Misses Opportunity To Vote On Marijuana Amendment

Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore.

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