Federal legislation designed to withhold funds from states and tribes that have or plan to legalize marijuana appears unlikely to receive any real consideration in the House of Representatives.
The Stop Pot Act was filed in September by Representative Chuck Edwards (R-NC), and it currently has four cosponsors. The measure would withhold federal funding from states and tribes that have legalized recreational marijuana.
The measure has been assigned to the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. According to a spokesperson for Rick Crawford, Chair of the committee, the Stop Pot Act is “unlikely to receive a vote in our committee”.
Under the proposed law, the federal government would withhold 10% of the federal highway funds it currently gives to a given state if they violate the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The CSA considers marijuana to be a schedule I drug, meaning any state that allows its legalization is in violation of federal law and thus would have funds withheld.
According to two separate polls released earlier this year, 64% of adults in the United States support marijuana being legalized for recreational use.
On the opposite end of the marijuana legislative spectrum, a measure to fully decriminalize marijuana and remove it as a controlled substance now has 79 sponsors. In the Senate, a federal marijuana banking bill is sponsored by 34% of the entire chamber.
