Cannabis amendments to be heard by house rules committee

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The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Rules will be considering two cannabis amendments which will affect the 2018 spending bill set to go before Congress later this month.

The committee will be reviewing legislation which would affect the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment and bar the Justice Department from using funds to pursue state-enacted cannabis regulations.

The amendment formerly known as Rohrabacher-Farr was implemented in previous years, but the Justice Department under Attorney General Jeff Sessions requested congress to undo those protections. Sessions said the amendment blocks the federal government from carrying out the Controlled Substances Act.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, D-CA, published an editorial this week which called on Republicans to support his amendment and reiterated the same points in a speech on Tuesday.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, will also address his proposal to prohibit the Justice Department from blocking medical cannabis research. Other amendments will concern banking and the status of cannabis in Washington D.C.

Testimony is slated to conclude today, but it is possible not all amendments will be reviewed in time.