A Look at Senate Committee’s Spending Bill And State Medical Marijuana Protections

On Tuesday, a Senate Panel approved a spending measure that appears to prevent the Department of Justice from interfering state medical marijuana laws, according to a report by Marijuana Moment.

The measure was introduced by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. The measure still needs to be approved by the full body and signed into law to go into effect.

The democrats described the measure as follows: “This bill again contains language preventing the Justice Department from interfering with states that have medical marijuana laws, ensuring that the prescribing and dispensing of medical marijuana in those states is both legal and regulated,” and “Patients and doctors in states that have approved medical marijuana need to know that they are safe from arrest and prosecution by the federal government.”

However, this description appears to misstate the impact of the measure. Medical marijuana would not be made (nor is it) “legal and regulated.”

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