Connect with us

Business

Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment Expires

Published

on

The Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment blocks the U.S. Department of Justice from using federal funds to crack down on state medical cannabis programs. The amendment was last extended on Dec. 22, 2017 through Jan. 19. But on Friday, Jan. 19, Senators failed to reach an agreement on the federal omnibus spending bill, causing a government shutdown. According to NORML officials, the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment automatically expired under the recent government shutdown.

“Temporary medical cannabis patient protections that have been imposed by the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment have now expired with the rest of government spending,” Justin Strekal, NORML political director wrote on Jan. 20. The absence of the amendment could mean open season on cracking down on medical cannabis businesses for federal prosecutors.

The amendment has been extended several times over, but usually only in weeks-long increments. The bill was first implemented in 2014 and included in several omnibus spending bills.

When the Cole Memo, which also protected state cannabis rights, was rescinded by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Jan. 4, the future of the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment was up in the air.

It was then that CULTURE reached out to lawmakers to provide insight into the future of the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment. “I think we’re both confident that we’re in a very strong position for [The Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment] to be renewed,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer told CULTURE on Jan. 4. “. . . It’s timely that it actually should be expanded. We have support in both parties to do this. This puts a spotlight on it. Dana has been working tirelessly on his side of this aisle. We’ve had broad bipartisan support, and we’re in great shape in the Senate. Hopefully, this will enable us to ramp up and expand those protections.”

There are other similar protections in the works. The McClintock-Polis Amendment, essentially removes the word “medical” from the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment, allowing for adult-use protections as well.

Now, if and when the government reopens another continuing resolution on the budget, and if congressional leadership reauthorizes the language as part of any spending deal, the amendment can be renewed. There are ways to help. NORML offers a form to send a message to your lawmakers to tell them to renew protections on state medical cannabis programs.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *