Medical Marijuana Wins But Marijuana Legalization Loses In Congressional Spending Deal

[mibrains]

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/10/7368693/marijuana-legalization-congress-budget

 

Medical marijuana wins but marijuana legalization loses in congressional spending deal

Updated by German Lopez on December 10, 2014, 10:10 a.m.

 

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1. Congress's appropriations bill includes a provision that prevents the Department of Justice, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, from interfering with states' medical marijuana laws.
2. The provision applies to 32 states and Washington, DC, which allow the use of marijuana or a marijuana-based compound, such as the non-psychoactive CBD, for medical purposes.
   
3. Advocates hope the provision will stop the DEA and other federal law enforcement agencies from conducting raids on state-legal medical marijuana dispensaries. These raids have continued under the Obama administration, despite campaign promises to end them.
4. It's not all good news for advocates of looser marijuana laws. The budget bill blocks a voter-approved marijuana legalization ballot initiative in Washington, DC.

Advocates cheered the move

Bottles of marijuana meant for medical uses. (Frederic Brown / AFP via Getty Images)

 

Medical marijuana advocates praised the budget provision as an important step to protecting medical marijuana businesses and patients who are operating legally under state law.

"Congressional leaders seem to have finally gotten the message that a supermajority of Americans wants states to be able to implement sensible marijuana reforms without federal interference," said Tom Angell, head of the pro-legalization Marijuana Majority. "This legislation greatly reduces the chances that costly and senseless DEA raids will come between seriously ill patients and the doctor-recommended medicine they need for relief."

But the budget bill also blocks legalization in DC

 

Rep. John Mica (R-FL) holds up a fake marijuana joint at a congressional hearing. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images News)

The budget bill will likely block a voter-approved marijuana legalization initiative in Washington, DC. The bill "prohibits both federal and local funds from being used to implement a referendum legalizing recreational marijuana use in the District," according to a summary from the House Appropriations Committee.

"While some of this may have to do with the distinction between medical marijuana (in the case of the amendment concerning states) versus outright legalization (as in DC)," Angell said, "I think that much of it stems from a general lack of respect for Washington, DC, that Congress has long displayed."

Under the Home Rule Act of 1973, DC voters elect their own mayor, council, and other government officials. But DC can't elect voting representatives to Congress. And federal lawmakers can block any of DC's laws and guide policy through budget provisions.

(Read more: 6 questions about Washington, DC, statehood you were too disenfranchised to ask.)

Congress previously used this authority to block DC from implementing a medical marijuana law for nearly 12 years. Federal lawmakers have also prevented DC from using local tax dollars to fund abortion services and life-saving clean needle exchange programs.

Congress now seems content with letting DC experiment with medical marijuana — but not full legalization.

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What is medical marijuana?

Medical marijuana is just marijuana except, as the name implies, it's used for medical instead of recreational purposes.

A manager at a medical marijuana dispensary holds up a bottle of the drug. (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images News)

Some studies and anecdotal evidence suggest marijuana can be used for various medical problems, including pain, nausea and loss of appetite, Parkinson's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis.

One study suggested the legalization of medical marijuana could even lead to fewer prescription painkiller deaths, since marijuana can relieve pain without the risks of overdose and dependency that come with opioid-based pharmaceuticals. In states that legalized marijuana for medical purposes, there were nearly 25 percent fewer deaths from prescription painkillers than expected, based on historical rates and trends in places that don't allow medicinal pot.

But the federal government doesn't recognize this medical potential, largely because the studies have been small so far, and there have been no large-scale clinical trials proving pot's medicinal value.

It's long been difficult to conduct thorough studies on the medical uses of marijuana, because of the drug's prohibition and the need for approval from a federal government that's more interested in studying marijuana's potential for abuse than its benefits. This creates a bit of a Catch-22: there needs to be a certain level of scientific research proving marijuana has medical value, but the federal government's restrictions make it difficult to conduct that research.

Still, some experts now claim it's time to seriously look at marijuana's medical benefits. Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN in 2013 cited a loud chorus of legitimate patients when he announced his shift in position to support for medical marijuana. For marijuana advocates, Gupta's headline-grabbing support represented a major shift in the medical world's attitude toward the drug.

Several states have already legalized medical marijuana, although the drug remains illegal for all purposes at the federal level. States' laws can significantly differ: some, like California, allow medical marijuana dispensaries and home cultivation; others, such as Alaska, only allow home cultivation; and a few, such as Delaware, allow dispensaries but not home cultivation.

Everything you need to know about marijuana legalization 23 Cards / Edited By German Lopez Updated Dec 9 2014, 10:47p

 

[bobandtorey]

What a wild day yesterday. As I was sitting in my cubicle reading tweets earlier in the day, it seemed that Washington D.C.’s  marijuana legalization bill was going to be entirely scrapped in a backdoor deal between Democrats and Republicans. As the day progressed, it appeared that possession and cultivation of marijuana in D.C. would move forward, but that Congress wouldn’t approve marijuana sales. Ultimately, the language that was agreed upon in the spending bill that will determine D.C.’s legalization implementation was somewhat vague. Some belief there’s wiggle room to implement legalization in some fashion, others don’t. There will no doubt be a battle over implementation, as there was with medical marijuana in D.C., so activists need to keep the pressure on as much as possible.

Something that was included in the spending bill’s language was a ban on using funds for federal medical marijuana raids and hemp enforcement. Those provisions brought praise from Tom Angell of the Marijuana Majority, who sent me the following message:

“Congressional leaders seem to have finally gotten the message that a supermajority of Americans wants states to be able to implement sensible marijuana reforms without federal interference. This legislation greatly reduces the chances that costly and senseless DEA raids will come between seriously ill patients and the doctor-recommended medicine they need for relief. Now that Congress has created political space by taking this important legislative step, there are no remaining excuses for the Obama administration not to exercise its executive power to reschedule marijuana immediately. The attorney general can begin that process today with the stroke of a pen.”

Below is the actual language regarding hemp and medical marijuana from the spending bill, also provided by the Marijuana Majority:

“Sec. 538. None of the funds made available in this Act to the Department of Justice may be used, with respect to the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, to prevent such States from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.”

“Sec. 539. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used in contravention of section 7606 (“Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research”) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-79) by the Department of Justice or the Drug Enforcement Administration.”

“Section 538 prohibits the Department of Justice from preventing certain States from implementing State laws regarding the use of medical marijuana.”

“Section 539 prohibits the use of funds by the Department of Justice or the Drug Enforcement Administration in contravention of a certain section of the Agricultural Act of 2014.”

Yesterday was a bitter sweet day. Medical marijuana aids were de-funded, but Washington D.C.’s marijuana legalization is in limbo. Please contact your members of Congress and tell them to respect the will of D.C. voters. Tell them that vague language is far from good enough – we need full assurances that D.C. residents will be allowed to possess, cultivate, and gift marijuana as Initiative 71 outlined. Or even better – approve taxing and sales of marijuana.

http://www.theweedblog.com/congressional-spending-bill-blocks-dea-medical-marijuana-raids/