House GOP Blocks Legal Protections For Medical Marijuana ... https://www.greenrushdaily.com/house-gop-blocks-legal-protections As long deliberations wrap up, the House GOP blocks legal protections for medical marijuana states. According to reports, yesterday the leaders of the GOP have effectively blocked the House of Representatives from voting on a measure that would protect states with medical cannabis from persecution. During the past four years, states with a medical marijuana program have had certain protections. The most significant protection was from the federal government. Specifically, protection from the Department of Justice. Since his appointment by President Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been trying to start a witch hunt. One of his main targets? Cannabis. Medical cannabis in particular. In a letter that he wrote this past May, Sessions cited the opioid epidemic as a reason for a crackdown he wants to enact on medical marijuana. Even though studies show that medical weed may be instrumental in helping addicts overcome their dependencies. Sessions, however, tends to ignore facts and statistics when it comes to his anti-weed agenda. The Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment After it was first introduced in 2003, the House of Representatives voted the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment into action in 2014. This Amendment protects states with medical marijuana programs from prosecution at the hands of the federal government. This protection is necessary since cannabis is still federally illegal. In fact, Dana Rohrabacher, a lawmaker from California who helped draft the original amendment, published a statement earlier this week. In it, he urged Republicans to protect the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment. Broadly, the amendment prevents the Department of Justice from using federal funds to interfere in any way with state medical marijuana laws. However, there is a caveat. The House needs to renew the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment every fiscal year. Because the House needs to vote in favor of it each renewal period, state protections constantly hang in the balance. This week, according to reports, GOP leaders have blocked the House of Representatives from voting to renew the amendment. The reason for the block is that the amendment is too divisive. Final Hit: House GOP Blocks Legal Protections For Medical Marijuana States GOP leaders are calling the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment too divisive? Isn’t that a weak reason for blocking a vote? By blocking the vote the renew this amendment, the GOP is skirting the line of violating state’s rights. While nothing has been solidified, as in, the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment hasn’t officially died, it is a precarious situation. By blocking the vote to renew it, the GOP is putting thousands of medical marijuana patients at risk. They are also threatening the hundreds of medical cannabis businesses in these states. Furthermore, since the amendment was created to protect states from interference from the federal government, blocking the vote for this amendment sets a dangerous precedent for states’ rights.
© BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) US Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at the US Department of Justice. WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The administration of President Donald Trump has been quietly cutting support for halfway houses for federal prisoners, severing contracts with as many as 16 facilities in recent months, prompting concern that some inmates are being forced to stay behind bars longer than necessary. The Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Justin Long confirmed the cuts in response to an email inquiry from Reuters, and said they only affect areas with small populations or underutilized centers. "The Bureau remains firmly committed to these practices, but has had to make some modifications to our programs due to our fiscal environment," Long said. Halfway houses have been a part of the justice system since the 1960s, with thousands of people moving through them each year. For-profit prison companies such as Geo Group Inc have moved into the halfway house market, though many houses are run directly by government agencies or non-profit organizations. A Geo spokeswoman declined to comment for this article. The bureau, which falls under the U.S. Department of Justice, last year had about 180 competitive contracts with "residential reentry centers" run by non-profit and for-profit companies, such as Geo. The International Community Corrections Association says on its website there were about 249 separate halfway houses in communities nationwide that are covered by the 180 contracts. Federal judges who spoke to Reuters said the cuts are having an impact in their districts, particularly in states with fewer facilities or larger geographic areas where the nearest center might be several hundred miles away. Judge Edmund Sargus of the Southern District of Ohio said it was a real "stumper" when in July the government ended its contract with the Alvis facility serving the Dayton area. Long said that the cuts have not reduced referral rates or placements, and only impact "about 1% of the total number of beds under contract." However, the changes coincide with other major criminal justice policy shifts by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has pushed for more aggressive prosecutions of drug offenses and a crackdown on illegal immigrants who commit crimes. In May, Sessions ordered prosecutors to charge defendants with the highest provable offense, a move that is likely to trigger lengthy prison sentences. In 2016, of the 43,000 inmates released from federal prison, 79 percent were released into a halfway house or home confinement, according to the trade association. “We need to improve re-entry services ... This move flies in the face of that consensus," said Kevin Ring, whose non-profit Families Against Mandatory Minimums has recently launched a Twitter campaign to raise awareness of the problem. Sessions is scheduled to testify next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ring said he hopes lawmakers will ask Sessions about the changes underway for halfway houses. “Is cutting re-entry opportunities really going to make us safer? Congress needs to ask the Justice Department if this is part of their strategy," he said. LONGER PRISON TIMES For Kymjetta Carr, the cuts have had a personal impact. The 30-year-old from Cincinnati said she had expected her fiance Anthony Lamar to get out of prison and go to a halfway house in November, after serving seven years on a drug charge. But she now has to tell their 10-year-old son his father won't be out for Christmas or his birthday because Lamar's release to a halfway house will not come until late July. "It seems like the rug has been pulled out from under us," she said, in an interview arranged through Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a nonprofit advocacy group. Halfway houses are low-security residences for thousands of convicted prisoners serving alternative sentences or on release from prison into partial freedom programs on the outside. The facilities are meant to help prisoners reenter their communities, find a job and get their lives back on track. A study commissioned last year by the Justice Department found that centers have come under greater strain in recent years, as more people have been released from prison. Blair Campmier, executive director of Reality House in Columbia, Missouri, said he was notified in early June that the center’s eight-year-old contract would be terminated. Some of his clients were sent to halfway houses in Kansas City and Springfield, more than two hours away. “They were not happy, and their families were not happy,” said Campmier. Ricardo Martinez, the Chief U.S. District Judge in the Western District of Washington and Chairman of the Committee on Criminal Law of the Judicial Conference of the United States, told Reuters he has sent a letter to the Bureau of Prisons' new Director Mark Inch requesting discussions. "From our perspective, these facilities are not only useful - they are essential," Martinez said.
In my 40 years of living I have not seen one president get treated the way president Trump gets treated you guys can hate them all he wants but the amount of shit that he's getting thrown at his plate and he's being resilient. Millenials make me sick. Most of you have no idea why you are hating on Sir Trump. Just being sheep that's all..following the crowd so you don't get a bad image on you. I'll tell you all one thing if chivalry Hillary was president right now I'd probably want to kill myself because she does not have no respect for United States of America and the US Military and she would make our country into a shrine for immigrants
I see all the work the Russians have done has paid off, at least in tricking one soul. Trump has never been a stand up man. His goals and loyalties only apply to his own enrichment. His stability is even being questioned by his own party members and his Staff. If those that work closely with him can see this, why can't others?
I'm not a Millenial. I'm almost 60 years old, and in all my years Ive never seen a president act like this. He makes Nixon seem like a decent guy. Every other word out of his mouth is an Easily Verifiable Lie. He is at least a Sociopath.
Dude. Get a Grip. Unless Youre Native American, your an Immigrant, just like the rest of us. Possible your ancestors were even.....Invading Immigrants. Ask the Natives how they feel.
Samuel Clemons once said. It's easier to fool people than it is to make them believe they have been fooled.
Always a pissin contest when it comes to politics. How about I run for president... Free beer and grow ur own up to 50 lbs, and free prostitutes too
You've got my vote but someone else can have my dose of hookers, lol I don't follow the crowd, I research. And I pay attention to people's actions and Trumpy is a complete douche. Ask people that have had business dealings with him. He's unfit to run a business much less a country Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
I have a choice of 40-50 stores to purchase cannabis from and that.... that's pretty damn neat. What people need to really focus on is these outdated drug testing laws for employment.