An amendment proposed by U.S. Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO) and Tom McClintock (R-CA) would create protections for state-legal, adult-use cannabis markets from federal interference.
The McClintock-Polis fix is actually quite simple: if approved, the amendment would update the existing Rohrabacher-Blumenauer protections by simply removing the word “medical” in “medical cannabis.” This would extend Rohrabacher-Blumenauer protections — which have blocked prosecutors from spending federal funds in the pursuit of licensed and legal medical marijuana operations since 2014 — to every state-legal cannabis program in the country.
The McClintock-Polis amendment has been proposed and rejected multiple times in the past — however, following Jeff Sessions’ unpopular move of rescinding the Cole Memo, many federal lawmakers have spoken out in favor of states’ rights and the time is ripe for sending a pro-reform message.
According to a NORML report, there is a letter circulating today among Congressional leadership that urges lawmakers to support the amendment. In their report, NORML urges readers to contact their elected representatives and ask them to support the McClintock-Polis amendment.