Congress Ends Federal Ban on Medical Marijuana

Medical marijuana dispensaries and growers can breathe a sigh of relief. Congress included, in its 1,603-page federal spending measure, an end to prohibition on medical marijuana over the weekend, reported the LA Times. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is prohibited from raiding state-legal medical marijuana businesses.

The bill is expected to be signed by President Obama this week, thus making it a law. With this major move in marijuana prohibition as a whole, it signifies a full end of marijuana prohibition sooner rather than later.

Much of this comes down to politics, regulation and taxes. Democratic politicians claim to have supported the end of medical marijuana prohibition for quite some time. Republican politicians have more hesitation toward the measure; however, many Republican voters have begun to support marijuana for medical use.

President Obama’s administration worked in 2014 to reduce federal raids on legally operating marijuana businesses. This required the DEA to have an alternate reason for a raid, such as money laundering or other illegal activities.

After two decades of fighting, a monumental shift in drug policy is in the works. This is a big step in a forward direction for the medical marijuana industry. In the nation’s capital, voters approved medical marijuana in 1998. The fight for both city and state rights to regulate medical marijuana laws independently, went on for 11 years.

The federal government realizes now that the pressure is on. Times have changed and this is what the people want. The government is seeing how beneficial medical marijuana is for so many, however, the DEA still classifies marijuana in the same category as heroin and LSD. With the war on medical marijuana ending, business owners and patients can breathe a cleansing sigh of relief.