New Act Protecting Cannabis Friendly States Introduced

hero-new act

Jeff Sessions continues to spread his weed hating ways in 2018 with his most recent act rescinding the Obama era guidelines, known as the Cole memo. The Cole memo once gave a sigh of relief to states by easing federal regulations on marijuana and Sessions just grabbed it back like the Grinch took Cindy Lou Who’s last present.

Don’t fret too much because California is responding in kind with a one-two punch from Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA). Last week, Lee introduced a house resolution aimed “to protect states and individuals in states that have laws which permit the use of cannabis, and for other purposes,” entitled the Restraining Excessive Federal Enforcement and Regulations of Cannabis Act, or REFER Act for short.

Gotta love and admire any act that gives a historic and humorous nod to the absurdity once known as ‘Reefer Madness’. So KUDOS, to the cosponsors Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Don Young (R-AK), Dina Titus (D-NV), and Jared Polis (D-CO). California’s representatives penned  HR 4779  creating protections for both medical and recreational cannabis by barring federal funding for any efforts by the justice department to interfere in states’ laws when imposing its own.

According to lawmakers, the proposed bill would prevent ‘Weed Hating Sessions’ from being able to, “detain, prosecute, sentence, or initiate civil proceedings against an individual, business, or property that is involved in the cultivation, distribution, possession, dispensation, or the use of cannabis in accordance with the law or regulation of the state or unit of local government in which the individual is located.”

We also gotta love and give props to Barbara Lee for stating, “The federal government should respect the will of the voters in states that have voted to decriminalize cannabis. It’s time to stop wasting taxpayer money on the failed War on Drugs.”

Lee also eloquently stated, “I’m proud to introduce the REFER Act, which would prevent the Attorney General and others in the Trump Administration from stifling the budding cannabis industry. If the federal government chooses to interfere in these state matters, it’s up to Congress to prevent this harmful overreach.”

Let’s all take a moment and give a collective Hallelujah for the above language from Representative Lee. It’s not often stoners can collectively stand behind a politician and a bill with 420% certainty it is good thing for all those within the state. Bill HR 4779 is that document and we should all make sure it becomes a law if for no other reason than to have a law on the books with the word REFER.

How many more opportunities will one have to vote for REFER?



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