Since the presidential election, the lawmakers are introducing a lot of bills on marijuana. While there is no confirmation whether these bills would be made into laws, these bills offer insight into how these decisions regarding cannabis would affect our lives more than the slow agitation of Washington DC.
In the current climate, politically speaking, more importance is to be given to getting familiar with bills. Although a lot of bills have come this year, here are four of the cannabis-related bills worth watching closely:
Respect State Marijuana Laws Act 2017 (HR 975)
The Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment prohibits the Department of Justice from getting funds for prosecuting individuals who act in compliance of the laws of a state. This amendment has been a law since the year 2014. But it was signed and passed as a law as a part of a spending package and just to remain legally binding it should be included in the FY2017 end of the year spending package.
Congress must act to keep this spending restriction in place as it is just temporary. Dana Rohrabacher, who is a republican and a Trump guy, sponsored HR975 to limit the federal power on marijuana. He feels that the government is too involved in the rights of states and this is the best way to proceed.
States’ Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection Act (HR 331)
HR 331, sponsored by Rep Barbara Lee, seeks a Controlled Substances Act amendment to prevent forfeiture of civil assets for property owners due to conduct related to medical marijuana that is authorized by laws of a state.
Compassionate Access Act (HR 715)
Sponsored by H Morgan Griffith, HR 715 asks for rescheduling of marijuana to the medicinal use of it according to the laws in state and excluding cannabidiol from marijuana’s definition and for other purposes and that cannabidiol that is derived from weed or synthetically created and containing THC less than 0.3% on a dry weight basis to be excluded from marijuana definition.
Legitimate Use of Medicinal Marijuana Act (HR 714)
Griffith also sponsored HR 714, which would provide the legitimate medicinal marijuana use according to the various state laws by moving it from Sch. I to Sch. II of the CSA.
About 28 states have approved medicinal marijuana usage when recommended by physician and 17 states have approved the use of high CBD and low THC products in some situations for medical reasons.
