Senate Committee Approves Protections For State Medical Marijuana Programs

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The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a provision Thursday that would protect medical marijuana operations from federal crackdown in states where the substance is legal.

The committee passed the measure, by a vote of 22-8, as an amendment to the Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill for fiscal year 2016. The amendment blocks the Department of Justice, which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration, from using appropriated funds to interfere with medical marijuana programs in the states that have legalized the drug for medical purposes.

The amendment was offered by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and is a companion to an identical amendment introduced in the House last week from Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) and Sam Farr (D-Calif.), which passed the chamber overwhelmingly.

The same measure passed through both houses of Congress last year and ultimately made it into the federal spending bill signed into law by President Barack Obama in December. Unless...

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URL: 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/11/senate-medical-marijuana_n_7561854.html