GOP members of a powerful Senate committee are issuing a reminder that marijuana remains illegal under federal law and that the sale of cannabis near public schools and playgrounds can carry \u201cenhanced penalties\u201d\u2014an issue they are specifically highlighting in relation to the location of dispensaries in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
The Republican majority in the Senate Appropriations Committee released the text of a Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) spending bill and an attached report on Tuesday. As expected, the legislation itself retains a rider long championed by Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) barring D.C. from using its tax dollars to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana sales, despite voters approving a ballot initiative to allow possession and home cultivation more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n
In the report, a section on funding for \u201cemergency planning and security costs\u201d associated with the federal government\u2019s presence in the District includes additional language related to cannabis enforcement and zoning issues.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the text of that section:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMarijuana Dispensary Proximity to Schools<\/strong>\u2014The Committee reminds the District that the distribution, manufacturing, and sale of marijuana remains illegal under Federal law, which includes enhanced penalties for such distribution within one thousand feet of a public or private elementary, vocational, or secondary school or public or private college, junior college, or university, or a playground, among other real property where children frequent.\u201d<\/p>\n The report language is being released months after anti-marijuana organizations formally narced on several locally licensed cannabis businesses in D.C.<\/a>\u2014sending a letter to President Donald Trump, the U.S. attorney general and a federal prosecutor that identifies dispensaries they allege are too close to schools despite approval from District officials.<\/p>\n The groups said that while they were \u201cpleased\u201d to see former interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin \u201ctake initial steps against one of the worst offenders\u201d by\u00a0threatening a locally licensed medical marijuana dispensary with criminal prosecution<\/a>\u00a0back in March, \u201cwe have not seen any public progress since then.\u201d<\/p>\n Martin, for his part, has\u00a0since been tapped by Trump to serve as U.S. pardon attorney<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the underlying FSGG spending bill put forward by the committee\u2019s GOP majority would continue to prohibit D.C. from creating a regulated, commercial cannabis market.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the text of the bill<\/a> language:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cSEC. 809.<\/strong> (a) None of the Federal funds contained in this Act may be used to enact or carry out any law, rule, or regulation to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) or any tetrahydrocannabinols derivative.<\/p>\n (b) No funds available for obligation or expenditure by the District of Columbia government under any authority may be used to enact any law, rule, or regulation to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) or any tetrahydrocannabinols derivative for recreational purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n Senate Democrats on the committee have made clear they don\u2019t associate themselves with the newly released bill and report, though leadership hasn\u2019t specifically called out the cannabis components.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s disappointing that Senate Republicans chose to release a partisan bill instead of working with Senate Democrats to reach a final compromise,\u201d Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), vice chair of the panel, said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the FSGG bill funds critical functions of government, I wish this bill had addressed additional important issues,\u201d she said<\/a>. \u201cI remain committed to reaching a bipartisan agreement on the bill in conference in the coming weeks, alongside the remainder of our funding bills, and I\u2019ll continue fighting for working families at every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Recreational cannabis possession and personal cultivation is legal in D.C. under a voter-approved ballot initiative, though commercial sales of non-medical marijuana remain illegal.<\/p>\n Because of the congressional rider that\u2019s been renewed annually since that vote, the District hasn\u2019t been able to use its local funds to implement a system of regulated recreational cannabis sales, so officials have taken steps to expand the city\u2019s existing medical marijuana program as a workaround.<\/p>\n Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) has routinely criticized appropriators for putting forward bills that restrict the District\u2019s autonomy in a number of ways, including the rider to \u201cprohibit the use of funds to commercialize recreational marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n Norton said in May that she would again\u00a0again push her colleagues to join her in an effort to remove the cannabis language<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s budget request that he released in June\u00a0also contained the Harris rider preventing marijuana sales in D.C.<\/a>\u00a0Former President Joe Biden also repeatedly requested the continuation of the D.C. cannabis rider in budget proposals during his time in office.<\/p>\n While D.C. hasn\u2019t been able to use its local funds to implement a system of regulated recreational cannabis sales over the last decade, local officials have taken steps to expand the city\u2019s existing medical marijuana program as a workaround.<\/p>\n In March, meanwhile, the White House\u00a0called the District\u2019s move to decriminalize marijuana an example of a \u201cfailed\u201d policy that \u201copened the door to disorder.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n In a fact sheet about an executive order that Trump signed\u2014which is broadly aimed at beautifying the District and making it more safe\u2014the White House listed several local policies in the nation\u2019s capital that it takes issue with, including cannabis reform. That\u2019s despite the president\u2019s previously stated support for a states\u2019 rights approach to marijuana laws.<\/p>\n \u201cD.C.\u2019s failed policies opened the door to disorder\u2014and criminals noticed,\u201d it says, citing \u201cmarijuana decriminalization,\u201d as well as the District\u2019s decision to end pre-trial detentions and enforcement practices around rioters, as examples of such policies.<\/p>\n The post GOP-Controlled Senate Committee Warns DC That Marijuana Is Federally Illegal, With \u2018Enhanced Penalties\u2019 For Sales Near Schools<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
GOP members of a powerful Senate committee are issuing a reminder that marijuana remains illegal under federal law and that the sale of cannabis near public schools and playgrounds can carry \u201cenhanced penalties\u201d\u2014an issue they are specifically highlighting in relation to the location of dispensaries in Washington, D.C. The RepublicanContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84556"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84557,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84556\/revisions\/84557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: GOP-Controlled Senate Committee Warns DC That Marijuana Is Federally Illegal, With \u2018Enhanced Penalties\u2019 For Sales Near Schools<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"