Letter to Chairman John Culberson and Ranking Member Jose Serrano, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies - Add Marijuana Amendment to the FY2019 Budget

Letter

Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., is attempting again to get the House of Representatives to debate and vote on the "McClintock-Polis Amendment." This time he wrote a letter to appropriators for the FY 2019 budget. Previously, he tried to get the amendment on the short-term budget for the current fiscal year.

The McClintock-Polis amendment prevents the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from prosecuting anyone for using, selling, or possessing marijuana in compliance with state laws - protecting the legal marijuana industry across the country from federal interference. The McClintock-Polis amendment has been offered three times.

Read the official letter here.

"I'm excited to introduce a bipartisan amendment with Rep. McClintock, which would prohibit the Dept. of Justice from using federal resources to interfere with legal medical and recreational marijuana activities. As I have promised my fellow Coloradans, I will continue to advocate for this simple amendment to be added to the federal budget - shielding Colorado from the Trump administration's attacks on states that have legalized marijuana," said Polis. "It would be a temporary, but urgent and necessary fix, as I continue to push for passage of my Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, which would finally lift the federal prohibition on marijuana."

In Colorado, the legal marijuana industry has created 23,000 jobs and generated $200 million in tax revenue. Polis has been communicating with various stakeholders about a temporary and permanent solution for the industry.

Polis, along with three other members of Congress, launched the bipartisan Cannabis Caucus in 2017. The Caucus is a forum for members of the U.S. House of Representatives to discuss, learn, and work together to establish a better and more rational approach to federal cannabis policy.

Polis has been a longtime advocate for updating federal marijuana policy. He has introduced the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act. This bill would remove marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug; transition marijuana oversight from the jurisdiction of the Drug Enforcement Agency to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and regulate marijuana like alcohol by inserting it into the section of the U.S. Code that governs "intoxicating liquors." Last April, Polis drafted an article pleading with President Trump to leave marijuana alone.