Editing Marijuana Policy Project (section)

== Federal lobbying ==

MPP not only works to reform marijuana policy state-by-state in various states including [[Cannabis in Texas|Texas]], but also on the federal level. Some of MPP's key federal goals include: building support for legislation that would treat marijuana like alcohol under federal law, persuading members of Congress to introduce and support legislation designed to protect medical marijuana patients and providers, monitoring the Department of Justice to ensure that the department honors its pledge to not prosecute individuals acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws, generating media coverage to pressure the [[National Institute on Drug Abuse]] (NIDA) to provide marijuana for an FDA-approved study related to [[Posttraumatic stress disorder|PTSD]], and lobbying for passage of an amendment to a congressional appropriations bill that would eliminate all funding for the drug czar's office, among others.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mpp.org/our-work/federal-policy/ |title=Federal Policy |publisher=Marijuana Policy Project |access-date=2012-06-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608162802/http://www.mpp.org/our-work/federal-policy/ |archive-date=2012-06-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Since MPP's founding, positive medical marijuana bills have been introduced in six consecutive Congresses. In addition, in the summers of 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, the U.S. House debated and voted on an appropriations amendment advocated for primarily by MPP.

In July 2003, 152 members of Congress voted in favor of the [[Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment|Hinchey amendment]] to the spending bill for the U.S. Justice Department. The legislation would have prevented the DEA from spending any money to raid or arrest medical marijuana patients and caregivers in states with medical marijuana laws.

In July 2007, following an intensive MPP lobbying campaign, MPP helped to garner 165 votes in the U.S. House of Representatives for the [[Hinchey Amendment]]—an all-time record of support for medical marijuana access.{{citation needed|date=October 2011}}

In December 2009, MPP successfully lobbied for the removal of the "Barr Amendment" from the D.C. Appropriations bill.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2009/jul/17/medical_marijuana_us_house_overt|title=Medical Marijuana: US House Overturns Barr Amendment, Removes Obstacle to Implementing 1998 DC Vote - StoptheDrugWar.org|website=stopthedrugwar.org|access-date=19 December 2017}}</ref> MPP led the fight to end Congressional interference, which, for over 10 years, blocked the District of Columbia from implementing a medical marijuana initiative that passed with over 70% of the vote. MPP even retained the amendment's namesake, former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr, to lobby for the amendment's removal after he reversed his position in 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/07/20/bob-barr-lauds-demise-of-barr-amendment/|title=Bob Barr Lauds Demise of Barr Amendment|newspaper=Washington City Paper |date=July 20, 2009|access-date=19 December 2017}}</ref> Following the removal of the amendment, MPP successfully lobbied the District Council to improve the language they were considering to implement the initiative and lobbied the executive branch for reasonable regulations. Those regulations went into effect on April 15, 2011.

During the 112th session of Congress, MPP lobbied on behalf of several pending marijuana-related bills.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mpp.org/our-work/federal-policy/ |title=Federal Policy |publisher=Mpp.org |date=2011-05-25 |access-date=2012-06-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608162802/http://www.mpp.org/our-work/federal-policy/ |archive-date=2012-06-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> For the first time ever, a bill to end federal marijuana prohibition was introduced. H.R. 2306, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2012, would have removed marijuana from the list of controlled substances and would have eliminated all federal penalties related to marijuana (except in cases where marijuana was transferred into another state in violation of that state's laws).

MPP is also lobbied on behalf of medical marijuana on the federal level. In May 2011, three bills to benefit medical marijuana patients and their providers were introduced in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]]. The "States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act" would have modified federal law so that individuals acting in compliance with state law were immune from federal prosecution. The "Small Business Tax Equity Act of 2011" and the "Small Business Banking Improvement Act of 2011" addressed critical tax and banking issues faced by medical marijuana centers and dispensaries as they attempt to serve patients, comply with statewide regulations, and pay their fair share of taxes.

During the 113th session of Congress (2013-2014), in May 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to end the federal government's war on medical marijuana. During a debate regarding a Justice Department funding bill, Rep. [[Dana Rohrabacher]] (R-CA), a longtime MPP ally, offered the [[Rohrabacher–Farr amendment]] to block DEA raids on medical marijuana dispensaries. It passed the House 219–189 and became law in December 2014. MPP played a key role in building support for this measure, meeting with Congressman Rohrabacher and former Congressman Maurice Hinchey on this amendment for more than a decade.

In addition, in December 2014, Congress passed a historic medical marijuana amendment as part of the federal spending bill, marking the first time in history that Congress approved legislation rolling back the federal government's war on medical marijuana patients and providers. The bill included an amendment that prohibits the Department of Justice—which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration—from using funds to interfere with state medical marijuana laws.

Currently, MPP continues to build support for legislation that would treat marijuana like alcohol under federal law, works with members of Congress on bills designed to protect and assist medical marijuana patients and providers, and increases public pressure on the Department of Justice to eliminate prosecutions of individuals acting in compliance with state marijuana laws, among other efforts.