The House Appropriations Committee approved a legislative amendment on Tuesday that would protect businesses and individuals participating in recreational cannabis programs legal under state law from interference and prosecution by the federal government. The amendment, which attaches a budget rider to the 2023 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies appropriations legislation, was approved by a voice vote before the committee passed the entire bill by a vote of 31-24.

The bipartisan amendment was introduced by Democratic Representative Barbara Lee of California and Representative David Joyce, a Republican from Ohio. The legislation is also supported by congressional cannabis advocates who do not sit on the Appropriations Committee including Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and District of Columbia Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, both Democrats, as well as Republican Representative Tom McClintock of California.

No Federal Funds for Weed Prosecutions

Under the budget rider, the Department of Justice is prohibited from using federal resources to interfere with the authority of states, territories, tribal governments, or the District of Columbia to enact legislation to regulate the production, sale and use of cannabis. The legislation passed by the House also prohibits the government from taking action against adults who are acting in compliance with adult-use cannabis programs legal under state, tribal or territorial law.

“Congress must honor the will of the voters and prevent wasteful Department of Justice prosecution of those complying with their respective state’s or tribe’s cannabis regulations,” Blumenauer said in a statement. “I have spearheaded the work to develop this language, which protects the state and tribal-legal programs that have been enacted laws to end prohibitionary policies and allow the development of both adult-use and medical marijuana programs.”

Similar amendments have been approved by the full House of Representatives as part of omnibus appropriations legislation over the last two years but they were not included in the final version of the bills. Since 2014, Congress has passed appropriations bills that included protections for those acting in compliance with state-legal medical cannabis laws.

In 2018, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo, which since 2013 had directed the Department of Justice to assign a low priority to prosecutions for cannabis offenses legal under state law. Current Attorney General Merrick Garland has repeatedly said that enforcing marijuana prohibition laws are generally not an effective use of federal resources, although prosecutions continue in many jurisdictions.

Morgan Fox, the political director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), applauded the passage of the amendment in a statement from the cannabis policy reform advocacy group.

“As federal lawmakers steadily work to determine the best way to finally end marijuana prohibition and undo the damage it has caused, the people involved in regulated cannabis programs in the growing number of states that are leading the way on this issue deserve to know whether the federal government will actively get in the way of their continued successes,” said Fox. “Including these protections in the federal budget will go a long way toward giving individuals, businesses, and state governments some peace of mind while signaling to the vast majority of Americans who support legalizing and regulating cannabis that their elected representatives are actually listening to them.”

Cannabis Industry Reacts to House Vote

Reaction to the passage of the budget rider from representatives of the growing cannabis industry was mostly positive, although many experts noted that the legislation does not go far enough. Katrina Skinner, general counsel and chief banking officer at cannabis compliance platform Simplifya, said that while the amendment passed by the Appropriations Committee is a positive sign that some lawmakers are ready to make progress on policy reform, it does not have the force of comprehensive legislation to legalize cannabis nationwide. Skinner noted that previous legislation known as the Rohrabacher Farr amendment to protect state-legal medical cannabis programs was not applied consistently around the country.

“Although the House Bill is another symbolic step in the right direction for protecting state legal cannabis industries, it is unlikely to provide practical protections from federal law enforcement interference,” Skinner wrote in an email to High Times. “As we have seen before with the Rohrabacher Farr appropriations rider, federal law enforcement agencies have taken a narrow view about what constitutes ‘interference,’ and judicial decisions have differed by jurisdictions.”

“Finally, as worded, the bill does nothing to help protect interstate commerce rights for licensed operators, including transporting funds derived from legal sales across state lines so that the businesses can obtain limited banking services,” Skinner continued. “So long as marijuana remains illegal federally, federal law enforcement agencies have the right to investigate and prosecute violations related to the CSA.”

Christian Sederberg, founding partner of cannabis law firm Vicente Sederberg, said that the amendment will help protect cannabis policy reform at the state level.

“This measure reflects the increasingly popular opinion that the federal government has no business interfering in state cannabis programs,” Sederberg wrote in a statement to High Times. “As Congress works to find more comprehensive solutions to repealing federal prohibition, it is important that states continue to implement regulatory programs aimed at protecting public health and safety.”

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New York state regulators voted on Wednesday to approve draft rules for the packaging and marketing of legal cannabis products. The proposed regulations establish parameters for the sale of recreational weed products, which are expected to go on sale by the end of the year following the legalization of adult-use cannabis by state lawmakers in 2021.

Under the draft regulations from the New York Cannabis Control Board, companies will be permitted to advertise their products via television, radio, social media and other platforms. But the rules also include strict provisions designed to protect children from being influenced by cannabis marketing.

“Protecting public health, reducing harm and promoting sustainable industry practices are key components of legalizing cannabis for adult use and I look forward to considering these regulations as we develop the industry,” Cannabis Control Board Chair Tremaine Wright said in a statement quoted by the New York Post. “We are committed to building a New York cannabis industry that sets high standards for protecting children and keeping products safe and sustainable.”

Rules Designed To Protect Kids

Labels for cannabis products must include the serving size, potency, ingredients, and directions for usage and storage. Packaging and advertising that contain cartoon characters, bubble lettering, neon colors, references to candy, or other elements likely to appeal to people younger than 21 years old are not allowed.

The regulations also forbid the use of endorsements from celebrities who appear to be younger than 21 and ban the use of common terms in the cannabis culture lexicon including “weed,” “pot,” “stoner,” and “chronic.” Misleading claims of health benefits and indications that the product is “safe” or “organic” are also prohibited, as are actual images of marijuana or people vaping or smoking.

Katrina Yolen, chief marketing officer of multistate cannabis operator Acreage Holdings, applauded New York regulators for updating the guidelines for cannabis marketing and advertising in advance of the launch of adult-use sales.

“Recognizing that cannabis operators need to be able to communicate better with consumers to educate, inform and build awareness about the benefits of cannabis is vital for the state and industry,” Yolen wrote in an email. “We look forward to supporting and working with the Office of Cannabis Management on the final guidelines over the coming weeks.”

All cannabis product packaging must include the state symbol of approval that includes the universal cannabis symbol with a cannabis leaf and the letters “THC,” plus an indication that the product is for consumers 21 and up and the New York state logo. The stipulated label is reserved for products that have been produced by licensed cannabis companies and lab tested for safety in accordance with state law.

Packaging for cannabis products must also be child-resistant, meeting standards that make the product difficult for a child younger than 5 to open. Additionally, the regulations require that cannabis advertising be no closer than 500 feet to schools, libraries, daycare centers, and playgrounds.

The draft regulations also call for a rotating series of warning labels to be placed on packaging for cannabis requirements, such as “Cannabis can impair concentration, coordination and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of cannabis” and “Keep out of reach of children and pets.” 

Marketing Rules Set a High Bar in New York

The regulations forbid marketing and promotional tactics commonly used by companies in other industries. Price promotions, coupons, customer loyalty programs, and other discounts are not allowed under the rules.

In an email to High Times, Katelin Edwards, senior regulatory analyst at Simplifya, a regulatory and operational compliance software platform serving the cannabis industry, said that a particular aspect of New York’s regulations may prove to be especially burdensome for weed businesses.

“Although it is true that a NY cannabis licensee can advertise cannabis products, cannabis paraphernalia, or goods or services related to cannabis or cannabis products by means of television, radio, print, internet, mobile applications, social media and other electronic communication,” said Edwards, “the licensee has to have reliable evidence that at least 90%, unless otherwise determined by the Office, of the audience for the advertisement is reasonably expected to be twenty-one years of age or older.”

Edwards notes that the composition requirement is more stringent than most states that have legalized recreational pot, including Colorado, California, and New Jersey, where audience composition requirements that call for about 70% of the audience to be 21 and older are the norm.

“Getting reliable and up-to-date audience composition data to prove that at least 90% of the audience is reasonably expected to be 21 years of age or older may be challenging; especially when ‘reasonably expected’ is so ambiguous and the burden of proof is on the licensee.”

The new proposed regulations will now undergo a 60-day public comment period beginning on June 15 before coming up for a final vote by the board.

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