Senate Defies AG Sessions on Marijuana Prosecution

What’s the story?

On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee defied the wishes of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and approved an amendment introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to block the Department of Justice (DOJ) from using funding for federal prosecutions of medical marijuana providers that are legalized by individual states or jurisdictions.

Why does it matter?

Leahy’s amendment may be not welcomed by Sessions, but Congress has approved a similar amendment as part of the budget process every year since 2014. That year’s passage of the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment blocked federal officials from prosecuting state-legal marijuana operators and patients, but it must be renewed every year.

In 2016 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit unanimously ruled that the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment was constitutional.

Leahy’s amendment is attached to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) fiscal year 2018 budget and appears to serve a similar function to Rohrabacher-Farr.

The amendment does not, however, change the federal classification of marijuana as an illegal Schedule 1 controlled substance.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote a letter in May to congressional leaders asking for repeal of Rohrabacher-Farr or the inclusion of any amendments in the appropriations process that would "tie the hands" of DOJ:

"I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime. The Department must be in a position to use all laws available to combat the transnational drug organizations and dangerous drug traffickers who threaten American lives."

Some senators did vote against the amendment. Newsy reports that Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) said Congress should "change the authorization within the Judiciary Committee, not through an appropriations provision."

According to The Hill, Leahy maintained that the DOJ has bigger fish to fry:

"The federal government can't investigate everything and shouldn’t, and I don’t want them pursuing medical marijuana patients who are following state law. We have more important things for the Department of Justice to do than tracking down doctors or epileptics using medical marijuana legally in their state."

What can you do?

Do you support Congress including protections for state-sanctioned medical marijuana providers in the budget process? Do you think it should be moved out of the appropriations process and handed over to the Judiciary Committee to make a final decision on the legal status of marijuana under federal law?

Use the Take Action button to tell your reps what you think!

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Dominic Simpson via Flickr / Creative Commons)