A bill introduced in the US House of Representatives seeks to amend the Controlled Substances Act by deferring enforcement to the States and their respective marijuana laws. Authored by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, of California, the bill called the “Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2017” has the support of 12 other representatives.
The proposed change in federal law would resolve the ongoing conflict between State and Federal marijuana laws. Despite being legalized in numerous states, the plant remains illegal and classified as a “Schedule I” controlled substance under federal law. Along with marijuana, the federal government includes LSD, heroin, morphine, and numerous other controlled substances under the Schedule I classification.
The Supremacy Clause authorizes the federal government to prosecute someone for violating federal marijuana laws, even though they are acting within the bounds of the respective State law. This bill would change that by amending the federal drug laws so as not to apply to any person acting in compliance with State laws “relating to the production, possession, distribution, dispensation, administration, or delivery of marihuana (the government’s term for weed).”
Read H.R. 975 in its entirety here.
Read more about MN controlled substance laws and defending against those laws here.
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Coley Grostyan is a criminal lawyer defending those accused of marijuana offenses throughout the State of Minnesota.