United States: House of Representatives passes bill protecting states where cannabis is legal from the federal government

The U.S. House of Representatives has just voted an amendment which definitively prevents the Department of Justice - which runs the DEA - from interfering with the cannabis laws of U.S. states and territories. Previously, this protection only applied to the medical cannabis program.

Protecting the independence of states

At odds with federal legislation, U.S. cannabis legalizations are constantly under threat of federal interference. Encouraged under the Obama administration by the Cole memo, state independence in cannabis matters had been attacked by Trump's previous attorney general, Jeff Sessions, who sought to suppress the memorandum. While the DEA has never acted directly against the legal cannabis business, the threat of its interference is a major source of uncertainty for the industry.

«The question is whether the federal government has the constitutional authority to dictate policy to the states on a subject that is circumscribed within their own borders,» wrote Tom McClintock, one of the bill's sponsors, in a letter sent to House members before the vote. «I don't believe the federal government has that authority, and even if it did, the states should be able to set their own criminal justice policies. That's the way our constitutional system was designed».

The measure is part of a broader bill to determine the federal government's budget for fiscal year 2020. Specifically, it prevents the Department of Justice from spending money to prevent states and territories «from implementing their own laws to authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of cannabis.» A similar measure has already been in place for medical cannabis since 2014 and has since been revoted every year in budget proposals.

A historic vote?

In 2015, a similar measure had failed to win over the chamber with just nine votes missing. Nevertheless, at the time, the legalization of recreational cannabis was not as widespread. This time, the proposal was overwhelmingly approved by 267 votes to 165.

The House just made history! I'm so proud to have voted with my colleagues to puff, puff, pass an amendment to prevent the @DOJ from interfering with state cannabis programs. This progress is outstanding news for Nevada and so many states across the country.

- Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) June 20, 2019

«This is the most important vote on cannabis policy reform the House of Representatives has ever taken,» says Justin Strekal, NORML's political director. «The measure passed by Congress today underscores the growing power of the cannabis law reform movement and the realization by political leaders that the policies of prohibition and criminalization have failed.».

«The historic nature of this vote cannot be overstated,» says Neal Levine, CEO of Cannabis Trade Federation. « For the first time, a chamber of Congress has declared that the federal government should bow to state cannabis laws.» Aaron Smith, Executive Director of National Cannabis Industry Association: «This is undoubtedly the biggest victory to date for cannabis policy reform and a hopeful sign that the rogue policies of prohibition will soon be a relic of the past.».

Nevertheless, this reform is not yet a done deal. It must first pass through the predominantly Republican Senate - the majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against the amendment. Even if it is passed, it remains a detail of fiscal policy for 2020. It is not, therefore, a far-reaching reform as could be the STATE Act, a text designed to definitively prevent any interference by the federal government in state cannabis policies.

It is, however, a first victory for pro-cannabis activists who see the U.S. Congress increasingly sympathetic to their cause. Congress recently passed similar legislation to protect the cannabis laws of tribal territories, as well as a law allowing doctors affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs to advise on medical cannabis without fear of reprisal. Legislation is also under discussion to finally grant the legal cannabis industry in the United States the right to use medical cannabis. access to banking services.