Summer Recess & Cannabis Progress: Cannabis News from the Capitol and Expectations for the August Break

by Michelle Rutter Friberg, NCIA’s Director of Government Relations

After NCIA’s 11th Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days concluded in May, cannabis news from Washington, D.C. has been relatively slow. Curious about what’s next before August recess begins? Keep reading to see what may happen ahead of the break and for a recap on where we’re at now.

SAFE Banking

Last month, just before NCIA’s Lobby Days, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing titled “Examining Cannabis Banking Challenges of Small Businesses and Workers”. Witnesses included the bill’s lead sponsors, Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT), as well as Ademola Oyefes (International Vice President and Director of Legislative and Political Action Department, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union [UFCW]), Michelle Sullivan (Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, Dama Financial), Dr. Kevin Sabet (President/CEO, Smart Approaches to Marijuana [Project SAM]); and Cat Packer (Vice Chair, Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition).

My takeaways from the hearing: no new talking points from Project SAM, surprised by DAMA’s comments (they’ve since walked their testimony [which many saw as opposition to the bill] back), and most importantly of all: the real need for SAFE so that we can stop talking about access to financial services and start talking about legalizing and regulation cannabis in a smart and equitable way.

As for what’s next? Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) recently shared that SAFE Banking would be scheduled for a markup after a few other bills received theirs. The good news? That process has begun. The bad news? Still no formal news on when SAFE’s markup will be. I’m expecting it to be after the Fourth of July break but before members leave D.C. for their annual, month-long August recess.

Appropriations

For years, advocates have looked to the appropriations process as a way in which to enact cannabis reform at the federal level.

In 2014, a provision that protected medical cannabis patients, programs, and businesses from federal interference (known as the “Rohrabacher-Farr” amendment) was included in the federal budget and became law. Since then, the provision has been included in appropriations bills and remains the law of the land.

NCIA has (and continues to) lobby on behalf of expanding this provision to include adult-use businesses and to also use the appropriations process to enact other reforms like allowing Washington, D.C. to commercialize adult-use cannabis sales.

House GOP negotiators heightened the stakes earlier this week when they announced they would mark up their FY2024 spending plans to levels lower than the budget caps set as part of a deal struck between President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). This will undoubtedly make the already contentious budget-process even more volatile.

Maryland

On July 1, adult-use cannabis sales will begin in Maryland. Cannabis became legal for those over 21 in Virginia in 2021, while D.C. legalized cannabis for adults via Initiative 71 in 2014 (but have been unable to begin sales due to congressional interference). Legal sales in the District’s neighboring states means that members of Congress will surely be more exposed to the benefits of regulation.

So, while it’s been relatively quiet in D.C. in June, stay tuned in July for a possible first-ever Senate markup of SAFE Banking! As always, NCIA will continue to advocate on behalf of your business and keep you updated on the latest.

Omnibus Leaves Industry Hanging

by Michelle Rutter Friberg, NCIA’s Deputy Director of Government Relations

Since 2014, federal funding bills, or appropriations bills, have included provisions restricting the Department of Justice from using tax dollars to prosecute or penalize state-legal medical cannabis businesses and patients. Since then, NCIA and others have worked diligently to expand those protections and enact cannabis reform through the budget, with some efforts being more successful than others. Another issue making matters more complicated: the federal appropriations process requires this provision to be approved by congressional process annually, so introducing, lobbying on, and enacting these provisions has to reoccur every year.

Last week, Congress passed the most recent omnibus appropriations bill, which is increasingly used to group together the budgets of all departments in one year. Keep reading to find out what provisions related to cannabis were included (or weren’t!) and why it matters:

PROTECTIONS

If you’ve been in cannabis for a while, you might remember when medical cannabis protections were first enacted in 2014. Back then, the provision was known as the “Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment,” named for then-Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Sam Farr (D-CA). This amendment forbids the Department of Justice (DOJ) from spending money to prevent the implementation of state-level medical cannabis programs, in addition to removing funding for federal medical cannabis raids, arrests, and prosecutions in states where medical cannabis is legal. To put it simply: the DoJ can’t use any of its money against state-legal, compliant medical cannabis businesses.

So, the omnibus had some good news and some bad news regarding protections for cannabis businesses from the Department of Justice. Good news? Those protections for medical cannabis businesses, patients, and programs remain in place. Bad news? Congressional leaders declined to expand those protections to include all cannabis businesses, despite the fact that the House has voted twice in the past to do so.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

For decades, Congress has used its power and jurisdiction over Washington, D.C. as a bargaining chip and test subject for various policies, and cannabis is no exception.

Washington, D.C. voted to legalize adult-use cannabis via Initiative 71 in 2014. However, because the Constitution gives Congress jurisdiction over the District of Columbia, Washingtonians have been, and continue to be, unable to implement the taxed and regulated sales of cannabis for adults. (That hasn’t stopped a flourishing gray market, but that’s a topic for another blog!)

One Congressman, in particular, has obstructed D.C’s cannabis market: Andy Harris, the lone Republican in the House from the state of Maryland. The “Harris Amendment,” which prevents legal sales from occurring in D.C., has been included in every appropriations bill since – again, despite the fact that House Democrats have voted to strip the language multiple times.

The inclusion and maintenance of this provision – especially while Democrats control both chambers of Congress – is simply unacceptable and inexcusable. To that end, NCIA recently signed on to a letter urging leadership to remove the language. It’s also critical to point out that Washington, D.C. is one of the places where disparate cannabis arrests occur at an alarming rate, making the need for reform even more dire.

EXPUNGEMENTS

A new appropriations amendment that NCIA supported was also included in the most recent omnibus. The language, championed by Cannabis Caucus Co-Chair Dave Joyce (R-OH), would allow JAG funding to be used for the cost of state and local cannabis expungements and record clearing. This is a small but incredible reform that we hope will be the first step in providing justice to individuals impacted by the War on Drugs.

VAPING

The omnibus also included report language related to cannabis. Report language is non-binding and essentially encourages an agency to do something. In this case, Congress is urging NIDA (the National Institute on Drug Abuse) to conduct interdisciplinary research on the relationship between the vaping of tobacco and marijuana, with an emphasis on risk perceptions, decision-making, and neuroscience.

Interestingly, the appropriations process for FY2023 is beginning to get underway already. NCIA will be working with appropriators and other allies in Washington, D.C. to maintain provisions that protect cannabis businesses and consumers while stripping those that deny opportunity and justice to others. Interested in learning more about appropriations, or working with our team on an amendment? Learn more about our Evergreen Roundtable and committees by visiting our website!

Looking Back On #10YearsOfNCIA: 2016-2017

by Michelle Rutter Friberg, NCIA’s Deputy Director of Government Relations

Over the last month, I’ve been taking a retrospective look at the progress NCIA has made in the ten years since its inception. While it’s been fun to look back at those early years, this week I’m excited to look at a time when cannabis policy was getting really active: 2016-2017! While this timeline is by no means a comprehensive look at everything that’s happened in cannabis policy during those years, here are some highlights:

January 2016

District judge dismisses lawsuit against the Fed, filed by the Fourth Corner Credit Union, says Congress must fix the cannabis banking problem. The same month, President Obama announces that cannabis reform is not on his agenda in 2016.

March 2016

The Supreme Court dismisses Kansas’ challenge to Colorado marijuana laws. The 6-2 vote meant the nation’s highest court would not rule on the interstate dispute, and Colorado’s legal cannabis market remains safe. “Since Colorado voters overwhelmingly passed legal recreational marijuana in 2012, we have worked diligently to put in place a regulatory framework — the first in the world — that allows this new industry to operate while protecting public health and safety,” then- Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) said following the decision. “With today’s Supreme Court ruling, the work we’ve completed so far remains intact.”

An AP poll shows that 61% of Americans support legalizing cannabis. The most recent Gallup poll on the issue, published in October 2019, shows that approval number has risen to 66%.

April 2016

U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control holds a hearing titled “Is the Department of Justice Adequately Protecting the Public from the Impact of State Recreational Marijuana Legalization?”

May 2016

NCIA holds its 6th Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Day in D.C., garnering over 150 attendees and participating in more than 200 scheduled meetings on Capitol Hill. That same month, the Tax Foundation reports a legal marijuana industry could mean up to $28 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues.

June 2016

NCIA hosts our 3rd Annual Cannabis Business Summit in Oakland with 3,000+ attendees. That same month, the U.S. Senate Appropriations committee narrowly approved a marijuana banking amendment. Ultimately, the amendment did not make it into law. The amendment has not passed this specific Committee since, though we continue to try!

July 2016

Showing increased interest and momentum on this issue, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on the potential benefits of medical marijuana. The same month, the Democratic Party included reclassifying cannabis in the party’s platform.

August 2016

This was an exciting month because we got to really see our efforts at work in the real world. Four years ago this month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that due to the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, the Department of Justice cannot use funds to enforce federal law against state-legal medical cannabis businesses.

September 2016

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch says that marijuana is not a gateway drug, but that same month, FBI data showed that there is one cannabis arrest every 49 seconds in the U.S. The majority of those individuals are Black and brown and are arrested four to eight times more than their white counterparts.

October 2016

Members of Congress and the campaigns to legalize cannabis in various forms enter the final push. That month, a report also showed that Colorado’s marijuana industry had a $2.39 billion financial impact and created more than 18,000 jobs in the state.

November 2016

Five states (Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada) voted on ballot initiatives to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for adult use. Four of those initiatives passed, and three of them passed by more than seven percentage points.

Four states (Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and North Dakota) voted on ballot initiatives to create or expand legal medical marijuana programs. All four of those initiatives passed, with an average victory of 26.3 percentage points.

Of course, November 2016 is also when Republicans took control of both chambers of Congress and candidate Trump became president-elect Trump.

January 2017

NCIA establishes the Policy Council to serve as the industry’s “think tank” in D.C., developing and publishing policy papers to educate policymakers and other stakeholders on topics relevant to the cannabis industry. The same month, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) begins his confirmation hearing to become U.S. Attorney General. He is subsequently confirmed, bringing uncertainty to the cannabis space.

February 2017

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that he expects states to see “greater enforcement” of the federal law against marijuana use, a move that would be at odds with a growing number of states’ decisions to legalize it. Spicer, taking questions from reporters at the daily briefing, differentiated between the administration’s positions on medical marijuana and recreational marijuana. Funnily enough, Spicer’s career lasted about as long as it takes me to smoke a joint.

The nation’s first-ever Congressional Cannabis Caucus is formed by Reps. Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Blumenauer (D-OR) with help from friends Reps. Polis (D-CO) and Young (R-AK). In the 116th Congress, Rohrbacher and Polis left Congress and were replaced by Barbara Lee, a Democrat from California, and David Joyce, a Republican from Ohio, as co-chairs.

May 2017

NCIA’s D.C. team grew from two (myself and Mike) to three, with the addition of Maddy Grant, who was our Government Relations Coordinator at the time. Since then, Maddy has become one of my best friends and was even one of my bridesmaids! If you know Maddy, you know she’s the best and NCIA is lucky to have her!

NCIA held its 7th Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days in Washington, D.C., where 250 industry professionals coalesced on Capitol Hill to attend over 300 scheduled meetings. Following that, there was a substantial increase in the number of cosponsors on cannabis-related bills compared to the previous Congressional session.

July 2017

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted on their equivalent of the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, sponsored by the committee’s vice chairman, Patrick Leahy (D-VT). That amendment passed on a voice vote and was the first time ever that a cannabis-related amendment passed in such a manner. At the end of July, the Senate Appropriations Committee also adopted an amendment that would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to recommend medical cannabis in states. That amendment passed by a vote of 24 to 7 – the most votes this measure has ever received in the Senate. The veterans’ measure did not end up becoming law.

September 2017

The House Rules Committee held a hearing to discuss amendments to the upcoming appropriations bill that will fund the federal government for the upcoming fiscal year and chose not to vote on the amendment that protects medical cannabis businesses, patients, and programs. Since the protections for medical cannabis businesses were included in the Senate’s version of the budget bill but are not included in the House’s versions, it came down to a conference committee to negotiate its inclusion, and ultimately, the provision remained in law.

December 2017

Senate Republicans passed their tax reform package into law. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) introduced two amendments to the bill that targeted 280E, however, he withdrew both amendments before the final bill was voted on.

If you think reminiscing on all that was a lot, make sure you keep an eye on our blog and future issues of NCIA’s Cannabusiness Leader to learn more about 2018-2019 and the progress we’ve made more recently as we wrap up this series!

Looking Back On #10YearsOfNCIA: 2014-2015

by Michelle Rutter Friberg, NCIA’s Deputy Director of Government Relations

Earlier this month, I took a retrospective look at the progress NCIA made in its early years (2010-2013). I started with the organization in 2014, so I’m excited today to take a walk down memory lane and look back at another era of NCIA history: 2014-2015! While this timeline is by no means a comprehensive look at everything that’s happened in cannabis policy during those years, here are some highlights:

February 2014

Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) published its own expectations regarding marijuana-related business guidelines. These guidelines, issued on February 14 and commonly referred to as the Valentine’s Day guidance, attempted to clarify Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) expectations for financial institutions seeking to provide services to marijuana-related businesses. FinCEN issued this guidance as states continued to set their own cannabis policies, and just months after the Cole Memo was issued.

May 2014

The Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment passes the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time ever with a vote of 219-189. While I had not started with NCIA just yet, I was in touch with our Director of Government Relations, Mike Correia, that night. Mike spent that evening doing two things: lobbying in the Capitol and running to the hospital to be with his wife, who was in labor! I remember waking up the next morning to learn two things: first, that states with medical cannabis programs and patients were going to be protected, and second, to find that Mike was the father of a baby girl!

June 2014

NCIA hosts our 1st Annual Cannabis Business Summit & Expo in Denver, bringing hundreds of cannabis industry professionals together.

October 2014

NCIA hires their second government relations staffer, ME! At the time, I was hired to be the Government Relations Coordinator and it changed my life forever.

November 2014

Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, D.C. all vote to legalize adult-use cannabis. However, because Congress has the final say over D.C. policies, the District still does not have any adult-use dispensaries.

March 2015

For the first time ever, pro-cannabis legislation is introduced in the U.S. Senate as S. 683, the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States (CARERS) Act of 2015. I remember that day well– Mike and I were there at the press conference with the architects of the bill, Sens. Booker (D-NJ), Gillibrand (D-NY), and Paul (R-KY).

April 2015

NCIA hosts its Fifth Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days in Washington, D.C., and brings dozens of cannabis industry professionals to the halls of Congress to talk directly with members of Congress and their staff. That same month, Mike and I moved into the first NCIA-DC office.

June 2015

The Rohrabacher-Farr amendment passes the U.S. House of Representatives for the second time by a wider margin of 242-186. Later that month, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee passed the companion Mikulski medical cannabis amendment by a vote of 20-10.

NCIA hosts its 2nd Annual Cannabis Business Summit & Expo in Denver. This also marked the first time a Presidential contender (Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY), hosted a private fundraiser with the cannabis industry.

July 2015

NCIA hires two well established D.C. lobbying firms to represent the industry on Capitol Hill. This was the first time in history that a “white shoe” firm worked to further pro-cannabis legislation. Nowadays, there are dozens of lobbying firms involved in this space!

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the Senate version of the Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act. This bill was the precursor to the SAFE Banking Act, and to this day, Sen. Merkley is our biggest advocate for banking in the chamber!

September 2015

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) gives the opening keynote speech at NCIA’s Fall Regional Cannabis Business Summit. That same month, GOP presidential contenders were asked about cannabis policy at a CNN Debate, showing the mainstream acceptance of this issue.

October 2015

Democratic presidential contender and Senator Bernie Sanders introduces the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2015 (S. 2237), becoming the first major-party presidential candidate to support the legalization of adult-use cannabis. Also that month, United States District Judge Breyer lifted an injunction against a California medical cannabis dispensary, citing the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment.

November 2015

NCIA celebrates its 5th Anniversary in Las Vegas and honors Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) with the 2015 Legislator of the Year Award.

Looking back, those early years of NCIA were without a doubt integral to where we are now in cannabis policy. Make sure you keep an eye on future issues of NCIA’s Cannabusiness Leader to learn more about 2016-2017 and all the progress we made during those years!

Appropriations and Cannabis (Part 2): Why It Matters

by Michelle Rutter, NCIA Government Relations Manager

Last week, we explained the appropriations process and detailed how Congress allocates federal funds (click here for a quick refresh). This week, we’ll take a look at how exactly cannabis fits into the equation, and why it matters.

By 2001, California, Oregon, Alaska, Washington, Maine, Hawaii, Nevada, and Colorado had all legalized medical cannabis. As is still the case, federal law and these medical cannabis laws contradicted one another, and as a result, one member of Congress decided that something had to be done. That congressman was Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), and he decided to use Congress’ “power of the purse,” or the appropriations process, to protect medical cannabis laws and patients.

Rep. Hinchey first introduced an amendment addressing these inconsistencies between state and federal cannabis laws in 2001, but withdrew it before it could be voted on. Just two years later, in 2003, Rep. Hinchey teamed up with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) to introduce what would simply become known as the “Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment,” which prohibited the Department of Justice from using its federally appropriated funds to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws. The amendment failed when brought to the House floor for a vote by a margin of 152–273, and would continue to fail five more times over the next decade.

By 2014, the amendment was known as the “Rohrabacher-Farr amendment,” and was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Rohrabacher and Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA). Finally, hard work and patience paid off: when brought to the House floor for a vote on May 30, 2014, the amendment passed by a 219–189 margin as an attachment to the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2015. In the hyper-partisan times we live in, the amendment was lauded for being bipartisan and receiving the support of nearly 50 Republicans.

The amendment was then introduced in the Senate by Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) just weeks later, but was not allowed a vote. In December, however, the amendment was inserted into the spending bill as part of final negotiations, and the bill was signed into law by President Obama on December 16, 2014.

Thankfully, that amendment remains in place today and continues to protect medical cannabis businesses, patients, and laws in the 31 states where it’s legal. It hasn’t been easy, though: appropriations bills must be negotiated and passed annually, so the amendment must be introduced year after year. Not only that, the appropriations process is riddled with legislative procedures and technicalities that have made the amendment’s passage a struggle in the Republican controlled Congress.

Since its initial passage in 2014, the amendment has been renamed multiple times, introduced by a member of the House Appropriations Committee, been introduced by the Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member, been included in nearly a dozen continuing resolutions, and been included in the original (unamended) text of the Senate’s version of the appropriations bill. Needless to say, the amendment has had quite a legislative journey in just four years! Despite all of that, however, the amendment has not received a House floor vote since 2015, and has never received one in the Senate.

Funding for fiscal year 2018 ends this Sunday, September 30. It is expected that the House of Representatives will vote this week on an appropriations package that would include yet another continuing resolution, likely beyond the midterm elections. This package, if passed, will include medical cannabis protections. If this appropriations package does not pass by September 30, the government will shut down, and medical cannabis businesses and patients will be left in limbo.

This simple, one sentence appropriations amendment is the only thing standing in the way of the Department of Justice from prosecuting medical cannabis businesses and patients, and as you’ve read, the process of getting it included into the federal appropriations bill every year can be incredibly difficult. NCIA continues to focus on ensuring that these protections remain in place, but also works to expand them to include adult-use cannabis businesses. In addition, NCIA is trying to use the appropriations process to advance other areas of cannabis policy, like curtailing the Treasury Department from prosecuting banks that choose to service the legal cannabis industry, and prohibiting the Department of Veterans Affairs from punishing veterans that choose to use cannabis in states where it’s legal. While the appropriations process is long, arduous, and incredibly technical, ensuring the inclusion of cannabis amendments is essential, imperative, and crucial.