Pubdate: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 Source: Baltimore Sun (MD) Copyright: 2014 The Baltimore Sun Company Contact: http://www.baltimoresun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37 Author: Evan Halper, Tribune Washington Bureau Page: 6 MARIJUANA-FRIENDLY STATES TO GET BREAK FROM DEA Spending Bill Ends Federal Prohibition on Medical Pot WASHINGTON - Tucked deep inside the 1,603-page federal spending measure is a provision that effectively ends the federal government's prohibition on medical marijuana and signals a major shift in drug policy. The bill's passage over the weekend marks the first time Congress has approved nationally significant legislation backed by legalization advocates. It brings almost to a close two decades of tension between the states and Washington over medical use of marijuana. Under the provision, states where medical pot is legal would no longer need to worry about federal drug agents raiding retail operations. Agents would be prohibited from doing so. The Obama administration since last year has largely followed that rule as a matter of policy. But the measure approved as part of the spending bill, which President Barack Obama plans to sign this week, will codify it as a matter of law. Pot advocates had lobbied Congress to embrace the policy, which they warned was vulnerable to revision under a future administration. More importantly, from the standpoint of activists, congressional passage of the provision marked the emergence of a new alliance in marijuana politics: Republicans are taking a prominent role in backing the right of states to allow use of a drug the federal government still officially classifies as more dangerous than cocaine. "This is a victory for so many," said the measure's co- author, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. The measure's approval, he said, represents "the first time in decades that the federal government has curtailed its oppressive prohibition of marijuana." By now, 32 states and the District of Colombia have legalized pot or its ingredients to treat ailments, a movement that began in the 1990s, after some states had already been approving broader decriminalization measures for two decades. The movement picked up considerable momentum in recent years. The Drug Enforcement Administration, however, continues to place marijuana in the most dangerous category of narcotics, with no accepted medical use. Congress for years had resisted calls to allow states to chart their own path on pot. The marijuana measure, which forbids the federal government from using any of its resources to impede state medical marijuana laws, was previously rejected a half dozen times. When District of Columbia voters approved medical pot in 1998, Congress used its authority over the city's affairs to block the law from taking effect for 11 years. Even as Congress has shifted ground on medical pot, lawmakers remain uneasy about full legalization. A separate amendment to the spending package, tacked on at the behest of anti-marijuana crusader Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md. will jeopardize the legalization of recreational pot in the District, which voters approved last month. But pot proponents nonetheless said they feel more confident than ever that Congress is drifting toward their point of view. "The war on medical marijuana is over," said Bill Piper, a lobbyist with the Drug Policy Alliance, who called the move "historic." "Now the fight moves onto legalization of all marijuana," he said. This is the strongest signal we have received from Congress the politics have really shifted." "Congress has been slow to catch up with the states and American people, but it is catching up." The measure, which Rohrabacher championed with Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., had the support of large numbers of Democrats for years. But enough Republicans joined them this year to put it over the top. There were 49 Republicans who voted in favor of the measure when the House first passed it earlier this year. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom