Congress Grants Short-term Extension to Medical Cannabis Protections

The good news is that the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) budget has been extended. This amendment has been helping medical cannabis defendants win in federal court. Beginning with the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana ruling last October, to dropping the case against Harborside this May, to the McIntosh victory in the 9th Circuit in August, the amendment has been protecting safe and legal access for patients.

Unfortunately, the amendment must be passed again every year to remain in effect and was set to expire at the end of the month. While Congress has just extended the protections along with the rest of last year’s appropriations bill, the protections must be renewed again before December 9th of this year.

We need to make sure the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment stays in the final bill in December. Better yet, Congress could pass the CARERS Act, which would permanently fix the conflict between state and federal medical cannabis laws.

You can help by sending an email to your representative to make sure state medical cannabis programs and the patients who rely on them remain free from federal interference.

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