Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined in a bipartisan letter led by Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) urging Senate Committee on Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to respect states’ laws regarding the regulation of marijuana when finalizing fiscal year 2018 appropriations.
The majority of states have some form of reduced restrictions on marijuana. Recognizing this, the Department of Justice has issued a series of guidance memoranda over the last several years outlining a federal-state framework upon which citizens rely to establish legitimate businesses. However, on January 4, 2018, the Attorney General rescinded this guidance. In this week’s letter, the lawmakers requested that fiscal year 2018 appropriations respect states’ laws in order to revert to the previous framework for marijuana regulations.
The senators wrote that rescinding years of guidance has created “disruption, confusion, and uncertainty throughout the country. Citizens who have been acting in good faith based on federal and state assurances now feel exposed. This disruption may deny medications to the sick, push individuals back into illicit markets, and nullify the previously-effective regulations – all while thwarting the democratically-expressed will of the states.”
“It is our hope that the fiscal year 2018 appropriations will alleviate the turbulence the Attorney General’s abrupt decision has caused and that the appropriations will help preserve the strong regulatory frameworks the states have created,” the senators continued. “Doing so will provide the opportunity to pursue federal legislation that both protects the legitimate federal interests at stake and respects the will of the states – both those that have liberalized their marijuana laws and those that have not.”
In addition to Cortez Masto and Bennet, the signatories of the letter include U.S. Senators Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Rand Paul (R-W.Va.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Wis.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Edward Markey (D-Mass.).
A copy of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Chairman Cochran and Vice Chairman Leahy:
As you work to finalize fiscal year 2018 appropriations, we respectfully request that the Committee continue to respect states’ laws regarding the regulation of marijuana.
As you know, for the last several years, states have changed their regulatory regimes governing marijuana. What began with relatively isolated experiments has spread across the country as citizens have expressed their will through the democratic process. Today, the vast majority of states – 29 in all – have some form of reduced restrictions on marijuana. Other states have proposals to do the same.
These states crafted serious, thoughtful regulatory regimes. Recognizing that comprehensive state rules enable federal law enforcement to prioritize its scarce resources to protect federal interests by encouraging state and private actors to operate within the state regimes, the Department of Justice issued a series of guidance memoranda over several years. As a result, our citizens have relied on this agreed federal-state framework to establish legitimate businesses that bring needed medical relief and help shut down dangerous black market activity.
On January 4, the Attorney General, without forewarning or an opportunity for legislative action, rescinded years of guidance, creating disruption, confusion, and uncertainty throughout the country. Citizens who have been acting in good faith based on federal and state assurances now feel exposed. This disruption may deny medications to the sick, push individuals back into illicit markets, and nullify the previously-effective regulations – all while thwarting the democratically-expressed will of the states.
It is our hope that the fiscal year 2018 appropriations will alleviate the turbulence the Attorney General’s abrupt decision has caused and that the appropriations will help preserve the strong regulatory frameworks the states have created. Doing so will provide the opportunity to pursue federal legislation that both protects the legitimate federal interests at stake and respects the will of the states – both those that have liberalized their marijuana laws and those that have not.
We ask that the Appropriations Committee work with us to craft the precise language that will preserve state laws regarding marijuana regulation until we can establish a longer-term framework.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
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