[20220204]LSB10694_联邦起诉州合法医用大麻的资金限制.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Funding Limits on Federal Prosecutions of State-Legal Medical Marijuana February 4, 2022 Federal law generally prohibits the production, distribution, and possession of marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes. Nonetheless, in recent years, many states have repealed state law criminal prohibitions on some marijuana-related activities, and medical and recreational cannabis businesses now operate openly in some parts of the United States. In response to the growing disparity between state and federal law, Congress has enacted appropriations legislation prohibiting the Department of Justice (DOJ) from expending appropriated funds to prevent states from implementing their own medical marijuana laws. Federal courts have interpreted the appropriations rider to prohibit DOJ from bringing criminal drug prosecutions against certain private individuals and entities involved in the state-legal medical marijuana industry, but they have differed as to the scope of conduct the rider shields from prosecution. This Legal Sidebar first outlines the legal status of marijuana under federal and