Bills
| 3.23.22

Do the Feds Need to Butt Out of State Medical Marijuana Laws? (S. 683)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is S. 683?

(Updated December 1, 2018)

This bill would allow people to use medical marijuana in states where it is legal without fear of federal prosecution. It would not legalize medical marijuana at the federal level, but would simply respect the laws of the 23 states plus the District of Columbia and Guam that have legalized medical marijuana.

Marijuana would also be reclassified from a Schedule I to a Schedule II drug in order to recognize its accepted medical use — opening the door for states to set their own policies with respect to medical marijuana.

Doctors working for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would also be able to prescribe marijuana to veterans under their care. Currently, marijuana is not recognized by the VA as a valid treatment option because of federal law, even in states where medical marijuana is legal.

This bill would also modify federal law to allow banks to provide financial services to legal medical marijuana dispensaries that comply with state laws. Cannabidiol — a part of marijuana’s chemistry profile that used to make synthetic marijuana — would be excluded from the definition of marijuana, thus allowing states to determine the status of cannabidiol.

Argument in favor

This would finally put a stop to federal interference in state medical marijuana laws that voters asked for. Marijuana has a legitimate medical use, and this bill will protect patients and their caregivers from prosecution.

Argument opposed

Medical marijuana is often abused by people who just want to use marijuana recreationally. The federal government shouldn’t enable that, and needs to make an example of those who exploit the system.

Impact

Anyone who uses medical marijuana products, patients in states where medical marijuana is legal, veterans receiving care from the VA in medical marijuana states, local law enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Attorney General.

Cost of S. 683

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

Of Note: At the end of the 113th Congress in December 2014, Congress included a measure in the so-called “Cromnibus” preventing the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) from prosecuting medical marijuana cases where the defendants are complying with state laws. That followed an uptick in raids related to medical marijuana, which led some to criticize the Obama administration for its stance on large-scale producers and retailers of marijuana.

Sponsoring Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said of his bill: 

“Doctors and patients deserve federal laws that are fair and compassionate, and states should be able to set their own medical marijuana policies without federal interference.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) added: 

“We want to take [marijuana] down to Schedule II, so doctors can prescribe this more easily. We don’t want doctors to be punished for simply trying to help people.”

In some states where medical marijuana has been legalized, there have been accusations of people abusing the marijuana they’re entrusted to grow as caregivers, or that the process of obtaining a medical marijuana card is too easy.


In-Depth:

This legislation’s companion bill in the House of Representatives has 14 bipartisan cosponsors — seven Democrats and seven Republicans.

Similar legislation that would allow VA doctors to prescribe medical marijuana in states where it is legal was introduced in the House in early February, but it has not progressed from committee yet.


Media:


Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user Dank Depot)