Politics
Why Sessions’s Anti-Marijuana Move Might Be Good For Legalization
For the past several years, the marijuana industry and its customers have been relying on a piece of paper — an Obama-era document known as the Cole memo — to indulge in their business and pleasure mostly without fear of arrest by federal agents.
On Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded that document. Observers took it as a sign that a large-scale cannabis crackdown could be on the way.
But could Sessions’s move actually turn out to be good news for legalization supporters?
The development generated immediate and intense pushback from federal and state officials, from both sides of the aisle. And it wasn’t just the usual suspects of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus chiming in. Democratic and Republican House and Senate members who almost never talk about marijuana, except when asked about it, proactively released statements pushing back against Sessions.
Congressman Rod Blum, Republican of Iowa, for example, said that the attorney general’s action inspired him to sign on as a cosponsor of House legislation to let state set their own cannabis laws without federal interference.
Iowa has not legalized marijuana, and only has an extremely limited medical cannabis oil law on its books.
Because of @jeffsessions actions, I’m joining the “Respect State Marijuana Laws” bill. I believe in States' Rights & I’ve seen how cannabis derived medicines can stop seizures in a child, help a veteran cope with pain, or provide relief to a senior with glaucoma. #IA01
— Congressman Rod Blum (@RepRodBlum) January 5, 2018
Not surprisingly, lawmakers who represent state-legal marijuana businesses and consumers who are now at greater risk in a world without the Cole memo are also fired up.
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader, for example, issued a statement in response to the Sessions move saying that Congress should not only continue an existing budget rider that prevents the Justice Department from interfering with state medical cannabis laws but should expand its scope to protect full recreational laws as well.
“Congress must now take action to ensure that state law is respected, and that Americans who legally use marijuana are not subject to federal prosecution,” she said. “Democrats will continue to insist on bipartisan provisions in appropriations bills that protect Americans lawfully using medical marijuana. Congress should now consider expanding the provisions to cover those states that have decriminalized marijuana generally.
Similarly, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said that “any budget deal Congress considers in the coming days must build on current law to prevent the federal government from intruding in state-legal, voter-supported decisions.”
Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado took to the Senate floor and issued a threat to block Trump administration nominees over the move.
.@SenCoryGardner on Attorney General Jeff Sessions' #marijuana policy change: "I will be holding all nominations for the Department of Justice. The people of Colorado deserve answers." pic.twitter.com/BnVEkA54ag
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 4, 2018
Likely 2020 Democratic presidential contenders rushed to beat one another to the punch in slamming the Trump administration’s anti-cannabis action.
Not a single member of Congress from either party issued a statement supporting the rescission of the Cole memo.
Whereas the marijuana industry has been operating in a sort of legal gray area under the Cole memo and the medical cannabis budget rider, the Sessions move forces marijuana to the forefront of American politics, where a breaking point may finally be reached.
While in the short-term, Sessions’s move has sent shock and fear through the cannabis community, caused stocks to tumble, spooked investors and gave banks greater pause about opening accounts for marijuana businesses, the disappearance of the Obama-era protections could actually have positive long-term implications.
Yes, DEA agents may raid some businesses. And federal prosecutors might bring some cannabis entrepreneurs to court. People in the cannabis industry could go to prison or have their assets seized.
Those actions could have long-lasting implications negative for those targeted. That’s nothing to take lightly, and no one in the legalization movement wants it to happen.
But by launching a crackdown in any form, Jeff Sessions’s Justice Department could spur a backlash — among the public and from federal, state and local officials whose job-creating, taxpaying constituents are being targeted.
And that could finally force a resolution to to the growing federal-state divide on marijuana that might otherwise persist longer in a murky gray area under the Cole memo and annual appropriations riders.
If Congress passes legislation to change cannabis’s status under federal law in the next year or two, legalization supporters may have Jeff Sessions to thank for it.
The leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives released the results of a survey he conducted of his constituents on Friday, and it showed overwhelming majority support for medical marijuana.
More than 73 percent of surveyed constituents represented by House Speaker Glen Casada (R)Â said they support allowing the medical use of cannabis, including 18.2 percent who back full recreational marijuana legalization. The rest of that group endorsed only “use for medical purposes under a physician’s strict supervision.”
Another 8.8 percent said cannabis shouldn’t be used until it’s approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with an additional 17.9 percent saying they’d never back the drug “regardless of FDA approval.”
Friends,
I sent out a constituent survey a few weeks back on a range of topics including medical cannabis, school choice, mental health funding, TN Promise tuition funding, open vs. closed primaries, professional privilege tax reform, and so on. Here are the results! #TNleg pic.twitter.com/P8fOsjmIhU— Speaker Glen Casada (@GlenCasada) April 26, 2019
It’s not clear how many constituents participated in the survey, and a representative from Casada’s office did not immediately respond to Marijuana Moment’s request for comment.
Marijuana is currently illegal in Tennessee for both adult-use and medical purposes.
Casada has previously come out in opposition to legalizing medical marijuana, but he said in January that he was interested in at least one legalization bill: the Tennessee Responsible Use of Medicinal Plants Act (TRUMP) Act, named so to emphasize that President Donald Trump has voiced support for medical cannabis.
“It failed, but it got a little bit further than last time,” Casada told The Jackson Sun in January, referencing the last version of the legislation. “I think a lot of representatives are concerned with a non-scientific body like the legislature approving a product for medical use.”
“But there are people who are desperate, because they are terminally ill, and they should have a right to try something,” he added.
The latest version of the bill was abandoned by lawmakers earlier this month, and it won’t be taken back up until 2020.
Legalization might have had a stronger chance if former House Speaker Beth Harwell had won her race for governor during last year’s midterm election. She had touted the fact—in a TV ad featuring footage of Trump—that she was the “only Republican candidate for governor who supports legalizing doctor-prescribed medical cannabis.”
Gov. Bill Lee (R) has publicly said he opposes legalizing cannabis for medical use, though the sponsor of the TRUMP Act claimed last month that “he assured me he would sign this bill.”
Photo courtesy of Nicholas C. Morton.
In the latest sign that congressional Democrats are using their new majority to prioritize marijuana law reform issues that languished under prior Republican leadership, a House subcommittee has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday to discuss three cannabis bills focusing on military veterans.
The legislation up for consideration concerns veterans’ access to medical marijuana, expanding research on cannabis’s therapeutic value and protecting U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits for those using the drug in compliance with state law.
It will be the second marijuana-related hearing of the 116th Congress, following a separate House committee’s approval of a bill to protect banks that service cannabis businesses from being penalized by federal regulators.
The House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health will take testimony on the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act, the Veterans Equal Access Act and the Veterans Cannabis Use for Safe Healing Act.
Lawmakers sponsoring the bills will appear before the panel, which is expected to advance the bills to the full committee for a vote soon after. Here’s what the legislation would accomplish:
Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA) filed the marijuana research bill in January and pledged that it would be the “first veterans cannabis bill to pass the House.” It would require the VA to conduct clinical trials on the potential benefits of marijuana for veterans suffering from a range of conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain.
Last year, an earlier version of the legislation was the first standalone marijuana reform bill ever to be approved by a congressional panel. Now the same committee will get a chance to advance the new version, which goes beyond last Congress’s bill by requiring, instead of simply encouraging, the VA to study medical cannabis.
“I am grateful to once again go before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee to advocate for countless veterans in need of non-opioid pain management options,” Correa told Marijuana Moment. “Last Congress, my bipartisan VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act was successfully passed out of committee and I am eager to do so again. All across the United States veterans want access to cannabis. It’s Congress’s job to get to work and give them the access they need.”
The Veterans Equal Access Act, sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), would allow VA doctors to issue recommendations for medical marijuana to veterans living in a state where it’s legal.
“Medical marijuana has shown proven benefits for treating these conditions and denying our veterans access to them is shameful,” Blumenauer said in a press release last month. “This simple bill would align veterans VA treatment with their very popular state laws, usually approved by the voters.”
Both the House and Senate in years past have approved appropriations amendments aimed at allowing VA physicians to recommend medical cannabis, but they have never been enacted into law.
Earlier this month, Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) introduced the Veterans Cannabis Use for Safe Healing Act. It would codify into federal law an existing VA administrative policy that protects veterans from losing their benefits due to cannabis use in legal states. It would also change VA rules so that doctors would be able to fill out forms allowing veterans to obtain medical marijuana, similar to the Blumenauer bill.
Tuesday’s hearing is another sign that House Democrats are prioritizing cannabis reform this Congress, and that they’re approaching the issue methodologically. It’s also in line with what Blumenauer outlined in a “blueprint” to end federal marijuana prohibition, with various committees taking up standalone cannabis bills in an incremental fashion leading up to eventual broader reform.
“The significance of House Leadership giving cannabis its day in Congress cannot be overstated,” NORML political director Justin Strekal told Marijuana Moment. “The momentum is cresting and never before have we been closer to ending the failed policy of prohibition and criminalization.”
The banking bill that passed in the House Financial Services Committee last month is pending placement on the calendar for a full floor vote. The veterans-focused legislation is expected to follow a similar course: the subcommittee hearing next week followed by a full committee vote that would send the bills on their way for the full chamber for consideration.
Military Veterans Organizations Press Congress On Medical Marijuana Research
This story was updated to include comment from Correa.
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill is asking House leadership to protect universities that conduct research on marijuana from being penalized under federal law.
In a letter sent to the chairwoman and ranking member of a House education appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Joe Neguse (D) and 25 colleagues wrote that “there are a multitude of higher education institutions conducting a range of cannabis-related research, including many in our districts, who prefer for future developments to occur through an accredited educational setting.”
Neguse and lead co-author Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), along with the other lawmakers, requested that the subcommittee include specific language in the fiscal year 2020 Labor-Health and Human Services appropriations bill that would prohibit the U.S. Department of Education from withholding federally appropriated dollars from universities that are researching cannabis.
“Formal research is especially important as more states legalize medical marijuana,” the letter states. “We need medical professionals who are equipped with the knowledge to discuss competently issues surrounding cannabis and health. Evidence-based research regarding cannabis ought to be encouraged in academic settings, not discouraged.”
“Our constitutional framework has afforded the whole nation the chance to allow states to differ on many matters of public policy, including cannabis. As a result, that same framework should be extended to the protection of research of cannabis at higher education institutions.”
Other lawmakers signing the letter to the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies include Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA),Ted Lieu (D-CA), Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Dina Titus (D-NV) and Don Young (R-AK).
The letter notes that there are many universities that are interested in pursuing scientific and observational research into the marijuana plant, but that the threat of having funds withheld has presented “an undue hurdle for many academic institutions.”
As it stands, universities must comply with a drug-free schools law stipulating that they cannot manufacture, distribute, dispense, possess or use a federally controlled substance. The letter notes that the Department of Education has been silent on the issue, and that’s why the lawmakers are seeking action through the appropriations legislation.
The language they requested be included in the bill reads:
“None of the funds provided by this Act or provided by previous Appropriations Acts to the Department of Education shall be withheld from an institute of higher education solely because that institute is conducting or is preparing to conduct research on marihuana as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 802 (16).”
“The roots of marijuana’s national criminalization run deep throughout the federal code and protecting American universities ability to research and understand the dynamic properties of cannabis is a commonsense next step for the Appropriations Committee to take,” Justin Strekal, political director for NORML, told Marijuana Moment.
Last year, Neguse won the seat of former Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), a longtime marijuana reform champion on Capitol Hill, when he retired to run for Colorado governor.
“This is a great move for Rep. Neguse given his background in higher education and we look forward to what other new ideas he will bring to Congress,” Strekal said.
You can read the full letter below:
FY20 Cannabis Observational… by on Scribd
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