Federal legislation introduced in US Congress meant to cover Fiscal Year 2024 includes multiple marijuana and hemp-related provisions.
Today leaders in both the Senate and House of Representatives introduced a massive package of six spending bill covering Fiscal Year 2024. U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the first bicameral, bipartisan package of six fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills alongside Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX-12) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03).
The section of the bill covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies includes a provision that makes it illegal for the federal government to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. The provision has been included in previous spending bills, but with a new House Speaker some advocates were concerned it could be stripped.
Specifically the provision states:
“SEC. 531. None of the funds made available under this Act to the Department of Justice may be used, with respect to any of the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, or with respect to the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, or Puerto Rico, to prevent any of them from implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.”
The measure also directs the Department of the Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to work with experts to assess the “adequacy of State marijuana regulatory frameworks, including commonalities and novel approaches to enforcement and oversight.”
“State Regulatory Frameworks.—The agreement urges the Department, in coordination with the Department of the Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, and other agencies which may have relevant regulatory expertise, to coordinate an assessment of the adequacy of State marijuana regulatory frameworks, including commonalities and novel approaches to enforcement and oversight.”
The spending bill also includes a provision stating:
“Reducing Reliance on Chinese-made Plastics.—The agreement encourages NSF to support research exploring domestically grown hemp as a robust plastic alternative to reduce the domestic reliance on Chinese-made plastics and directs NSF to report to the Committees on best practices for facilitating the cost-efficient use of plastic alternatives in government produced or funded materials.”
The full text of the six-bill package is available by clicking here.
