Department of Justice Memo Screenshot

Leaked Document Shows Why Feds Believe They Can Ignore Medical Marijuana Law

Prior to Vote, Officials Argued the Amendment Would Have Broader Implications Than Medical Marijuana

Justice Department officials misinformed members of Congress about the effects of a medical marijuana amendment being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives, according to an internal memo obtained by Marijuana.com.

The amendment, which lawmakers approved in May 2014 by a vote of 219-189 despite the Obama administration’s objections, is aimed at preventing the Department of Justice from spending money to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws.

But in the days leading up to the vote, department officials distributed “informal talking points” warning House members that the measure could “in effect, limit or possibly eliminate the Department’s ability to enforce federal law in recreational marijuana cases as well,” according to the document. [Emphasis added.]

The newly obtained memo, drafted by Patty Merkamp Stemler, chief of the Criminal Division’s Appellate Section, admits that the talking points were “intended to discourage passage of the rider” but do not “reflect our current thinking.”

Contrary to the claims about enforcement efforts being broadly hampered by the amendment — which is now federal law — the memo details the Justice Department’s legal argument that, despite House floor statements from both proponents and opponents of the amendment, the measure doesn’t actually prevent the federal government from prosecuting people who are operating strictly in accordance with state medical marijuana laws.

Rather, the 38-page document, dated February 27 of this year, argues that the provision’s effects are limited to preventing federal actions against states or state officials for implementing the laws themselves. In other words: the Drug Enforcement Administration can still raid, and U.S. attorneys can still prosecute, people who grow medical cannabis or operate medical dispensaries, but the Justice Department cannot take …read more

Source:: Weed Feed