DOJ Wants Removal of Federal Medical Marijuana Indemnity

(Fall 2017) Opioids are not the only drugs on Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ radar. Continuing his tougher stance, Sessions has turned his sights to marijuana. He is requesting that Capitol Hill strip away the federal protections for medical cannabis use approved in 2014. Specifically, Sessions wants Congress to allow the Justice Department to leverage federal money to prohibit states from imposing their own legal measures regarding all facets of medical marijuana, essentially resulting in a federal ban on the drug’s medicinal use. Additionally, Sessions assembled a task force to study the connections between cannabis and violent crimes.

Some lawmakers are opposing Sessions’ moves to restrict marijuana. In June senators from both sides of the aisle brought a bill back to the floor that would permit medical marijuana patients to use the drug, exempting them from the threat of federal prosecution. Aside from compassionate care, legislators from states that have legalized cannabis use are fighting for another pragmatic cause: to keep tax revenue generated by the multibillion-dollar marijuana industry.

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