A key Senate committee has advanced a large-scale spending bill that preserves a rider preventing Justice Department intervention in state medical marijuana programs—and without adding a new exception that was included in the House version of the legislation this year.
The panel also approved a report demanding that the Biden administration explain why it has not escalated diplomatic efforts to secure the release of American citizen Marc Fogel, who is serving a 14-year sentence in a Russian prison over possession of medical cannabis he used to treat pain.
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed several spending bills and attached reports on Thursday. As in past sessions, the legislation covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) contains a rider blocking the Justice Department from using its funds to interfere in the implementation of state medical cannabis programs.
SEC. 531. None of the funds made available under this Act to the Department of Justice may be used, with respect to any of the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota,
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