Even during a pandemic, the work continues.
Spending bills unveiled in the U.S. House of Representatives include provisions to protect medical legalization laws from federal interference, ease marijuana businesses’ access to basic banking services, expand cannabis research, oversee the country’s hemp and CBD industries and finally grant Washington, D.C. the ability to legalize recreational sales.
“More and more, cannabis provisions are becoming a normal staple of federal appropriations packages,” Justin Strekal, political director for NORML, told Marijuana Moment. “This bodes well for our opportunity to receive a vote on standalone marijuana legislation in the near future.”
It’s still early in the process, and much can change over the next few week. But below are details on the spending bills.
Banking. The bill includes a provision removing some roadblocks to banking and financial services for legal cannabis businesses at the state level. But it is a watered-down version of the stand-alone bill (SAFE Act) passed in the House and stalled in the Senate. While the Treasury Department would be barred from punishing banks, the Justice Department could still prosecute both banks and businesses.
Research. The spending bill covering the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education would prevent colleges and universities from losing funding simply for researching cannabis or its applications.
Advocacy. Schools receiving federal funds would be prevented from actually advocating for legalization.
D.C. Legalization. The Financial Services and General Government spending bill, which also covers matters relating to the District of Columbia, would remove a budget rider that has prevented Washington, D.C. from legalizing recreational marijuana sales.
Hemp and CBD Regulation. The bill funding the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contains “funding to develop a framework for regulating CBD products.” And the DOJ spending bill includes a rider meant to protect state hemp research programs established under the 2014 Farm Bill, which launched research and commercial ventures in a number of states.
State medical marijuana laws. A DOJ spending bill extends legal protections to states with medical marijuana programs by prohibiting the DOJ from using federal funds to interfere with legal medical cannabis laws.
