Medical Cannabis Is Safe Again — But For How Long?

State-legal medical marijuana has been on the edge of a disaster; the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment was bound to vanish in the tumultuous reality of American politics. But it seems that the end is postponed, at least for now, with the Amendment intact. What happened?

What Is The Amendment About?

The Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment protects medical marijuana in legal states. It prohibits the U.S. Justice Department from pursuing prosecutions against medical cannabis by denying any spending of the federal budget on the law enforcement operations against businesses.

When these protections were first applied, the Amendment had been at risk of expiring as well. The last time the end was near when bickering over the budget almost led to the shutdown. This time, it withstood the danger too, being restored in the temporary budget deal against all the odds. Until Feb.8, the day when the current budget expires, medical cannabis in the U.S. is protected.

Meanwhile, drug-reform organizations around the country urge people to contact their representatives and members of Congress not only to renew these protections but make them permanent. It sounds promising, but Congress has proved to be deaf when marijuana-friendly legislation is suggested.

The Bottom Line: Medical Cannabis Faces Uncertain Future

In the current political landscape, it is hard to predict what will happen next. The actions of last weekend suggest that the amendment might not be as important as it once was. Probably, nobody will make a great deal about it, and it just stays where it used to be. We will wait and see.

(Sweedsy in no way encourages illegal activity and would like to remind its readers that marijuana usage continues to be an offense under Federal Law, regardless of state marijuana laws. To learn more, click here.)