Legislators to Federal Government: Keep Hands Off State Drug Laws

Members of Congress from states with legal marijuana are joining with Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California to urge the federal government not to interfere with state drug policy.

Last week voters in Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia approved ballot measures to legalize marijuana possession. They joined Colorado and Washington state, which legalized marijuana in 2012. California is expected to be the next battleground for legal marijuana in the 2016 election.

On Thursday, Democrats from Oregon, Colorado and the District of Columbia will join Representative Rohrabacher, a Republican, for a news conference to discuss changing attitudes about marijuana, according to the Associated Press.

Last month, Rohrabacher received an A+ from the pro-marijuana legalization group Drug Policy Alliance, which released report card grades for members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Rohrabacher introduced the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act, which would “exempt individuals acting in compliance with state marijuana laws from federal arrest and prosecution in states that have reformed their marijuana laws.” The bill, which was co-sponsored by 22 Democrats and six Republicans, hasn’t made it out of committee.

In May, Rohrabacher called on the federal government to align its policies consistently with the 26 states that have allowed marijuana to be prescribed by doctors for medical treatment. In a news release, he said, “Patients and providers currently run the risk of having a federal SWAT Team-like police force raid their home or their place of business because of consumption of a plant. The militarization of the police force in order to prevent grandma from smoking an herb that will ease her pain during her last days on this earth is the type of thing that ought to make every conservative shudder.”