States Turn To Unenforced Federal Law To Slow Medical Marijuana Legalization — Roll Call

«States are authorizing conduct that is restricted under federal law, so at very first blush, I can see how this could be confusing and unexpected, however at this moment, two-thirds of the nation have actually carried out detailed medical marijuanalaws,» says Karen O’Keefe, state policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization advocacy group that lobbied for the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment.

The rider halted most raids including medical cannabis in states with legalization.

The clients and service providers who cultivate, process and dispense the cannabis these patients count on in these states for the treatment of debilitating illness do not have to fear federal charges as long as they What Are The Pros And Cons Of Medical Cannabis? in compliance with state law, says Sean Khalepari, regulative affairs coordinator for the pro-medical cannabis group Americans for Safe Access.

But the unusual nature of the provision is not well understood, some state.

Confusion reigns

It took more than a years for Congress to pass the change, called for its sponsors, former California Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican, and Sam Farr, a Democrat. After some Republican legislators voiced assistance, it passed your house narrowly in 2014 and was protected in a last appropriations offer. President Barack Obama signed it into law.