The US Congress has re-authorized the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment which prohibits the Justice Department from interfering in state-authorized medical marijuana programs. The provision was included in short-term spending legislation, House Resolution 2028, and will expire on April 28, 2017.
The Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment was initially enacted by Congress in 2014, and provides that federal funds cannot be used to prevent states from “implementing their own state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana.” (H.Amdt.748)
In August, 2016, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in United States v. McIntosh, 833 F.3d 1163, 1177 (9th Cir. 2016), unanimously ruled that the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment bars the federal government from taking legal action against any individual involved in medical marijuana related activity absent evidence that the defendant is in clear violation of state law.
Because the provision is included as part of a Congressional spending package and does not explicitly amend the US Controlled Substances Act, members must re-authorize the amendment annually.