The House approves veterans' medical marijuana and psychedelic research amendments to a must-pass spending bill, a new House bill would clear the way for security clearances for past or present pot smokers, and more.
Bipartisan House Bill to Allow Pot Smokers to Get Security Clearances Filed [15]. Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC) hae introduced the Cannabis Users Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act, [16] legislation to prevent prior or current marijuana use from becoming grounds for failing to receive security clearance or for being found unsuitable for federal employment. The CURE Act will also allow for someone who has previously been denied a security clearance or a federal job opportunity based on marijuana use the chance to have that denial reviewed.
"Every year, qualified and dedicated individuals seeking to serve our country are unable to secure federal jobs and security clearances because the federal government has not caught up with the widely established legal use of medical and recreational cannabis," said Rep. Raskin. "I am proud to partner with my friend Representative Mace to introduce the bipartisan CURE Act that will eliminate the draconian, failed and obsolete marijuana policies that prevent talented individuals from becoming honorable public servants in their own government."
The CURE Act has been endorsed by the Drug Policy Alliance, the Due Process Institute, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), and the US Cannabis Council.
Medical Marijuana
House Approves Veterans Medical Marijuana Access and Psychedelic Research Amendments to Defense Spending Bill [17]. The House on Wednesday approved amendments to a large-scale spending bill that would allow Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors to recommend medical cannabis to military veterans and promote research into substances like psilocybin and MDMA.
The medical marijuana measure, which was filed by the co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus -- Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) -- passed in a voice vote.
Their amendment would specifically prohibit the use of VA funds to enforce provisions of an existing directive that bars doctors from making medical cannabis recommendations to veterans.
The House also adopted, by a voice vote, an amendment from Reps. Lou Correa (D-CA) and Jack Bergman (R-MI) that would encourage research into the therapeutic potential of certain psychedelics.
Asset Forfeiture
Georgia Prosecutor Seeks to Seize Landlord's Property Because Tenant Possessed Meth [18]. In a bid to stretch the fabric of asset forfeiture, the Ogeechee Circuit District Attorney's Office is seeking to seize the property of a landlord because of her tenant's alleged drug use. There is no allegation that the landlord was involved with or even aware of the alleged drug use, and there is no allegation that the tenant sold drugs -- only that she possessed them.
The case arose when a January raid of the tenant's home and utility shed turned up methamphetamine and the tenant was arrested on meth possession charges. But the criminal case has since stalled. Six months after the raid, the case has not even made it to the grand jury. There has been no indictment and no action since January.
The District Attorney's Office has nonetheless filed paperwork to seize the property where the tenant was arrested through civil asset forfeiture, which does not require a prior criminal conviction before seizing the property. In this case the property is a third of an acre of land, the utility shed, and a mobile home parked on the property where the tenant resided.
District Attorney Daphne Totten and ADA Barclay Black argued in the filing that the property is 'contraband and subject to forfeiture' because the property "was found in close proximity to the controlled substance, namely methamphetamine" and "was possessed, used, or available for use to facilitate a violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act."
The landlord is fighting the attempted seizure, and a hearing is set for tomorrow. Stay tuned.