Medical Marijuana has Federal Protection... from the Feds

[Mach]

New to me....


"Became Law"

Was included in the 2015 Federal Omnibus Spending Bill

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.

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http://blog.norml.org/2015/12/11/normls-weekly-legislative-round-up-42/

*Prevent the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration from spending money to interfere with the implementation of state medical marijuana laws.

-Similar language was enacted last year and is current law for Fiscal Year 2015. On June 3, the House approved the amendment by a vote of 242-186 and on June 11, the Senate Appropriations Committee adopted the amendment by a vote of 21-9.

* Prevent the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration from spending money to interfere with the implementation of state industrial hemp research programs.

-Similar language was enacted last year and is current law for Fiscal Year 2015. On June 3, the House approved the amendment by a vote of 289-132 and on June 11, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the amendment by a voice vote.

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http://www.thedailychronic.net/2015...ding-bill-reauthorizes-marijuana-protections/

WASHINGTON, DC — Members of Congress on Wednesday unveiled the 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill, legislation that is responsible for funding the federal government through the 2016 fiscal year.

While stand alone marijuana related bills rarely gain traction in Congress, the annual omnibus appropriations bill has become a tool for federal lawmakers to pass marijuana related language into annual spending guidelines.

In last week’s Legislative Round Up, we covered five distinct marijuana provisions that lawmakers sought to include in the final draft of the 2016 spending bill.

We now know that two of these provisions have been included in the omnibus appropriations bill. One measure prevents the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration from spending money to interfere with the implementation of state medical marijuana laws. The other measure prevents the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration from spending money to interfere with the implementation of state industrial hemp research programs.

Both measures were initially passed by Congress in 2015, but required reauthorization to extend into 2016.