The United States Department of Justice is not allowed to spend money to prosecute federal cannabis cases if the defendants abide by state guidelines that allow marijuana’s sale for medicinal purposes, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The ruling, which comes from the Ninth United States Circuit Court of Appeals, arrives as voters in nine other states are going to think about legalizing the recreational use of cannabis this November.
At the moment, twenty-five U.S. states have legalized medical marijuana despite the fact that the drug is still illegal under federal law. Regardless, Congress in 2014 passed a budget rule which stops the Department of Justice from using federal funds to get in the way of state laws regarding marijuana. Because of this rule, defendants in ten cases in California and Washington refuted that their federal charges should be dropped. The 9th Circuit in San Francisco, which covers nine Western states, decided on Tuesday that the Department of Justice is not allowed to spend money so long as those defendants “strictly complied” with all state laws.
The appeals court sent the cases back to lower courts to decide whether or not the defendants had followed state law. A Justice Department spokesman was not able to be reached for comment. In November, California and eight other states are going to think about whether to allow cannabis for recreational use. Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, as well as the District of Columbia, already allow it. The unanimous 9th Circuit ruling on Tuesday was given by a panel of three judges, two of which are Republican appointees who have a tendency towards pro-law enforcement. Nevertheless, Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain wrote that medical cannabis sellers should not feel as though they are free from federal law.
“Congress could restore funding tomorrow, a year from now, or four years from now,” he stated, “and the government could then prosecute individuals who committed offenses while the government lacked funding.”
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