The Rohrabacher–Farr amendment (also known as the Rohrabacher–Blumenauer amendment) is legislation introduced by U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey in 2001, prohibiting the Justice Department from spending funds to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws. It passed the House in May 2014 after six previously failed attempts, becoming law in December 2014 as part of an omnibus spending bill. The passage of the amendment was the first time either chamber of Congress had voted to protect medical cannabis patients, and is viewed as a historic victory for cannabis reform advocates at the federal level. The amendment does not change the legal status of cannabis, however, and must be renewed each fiscal year in order to remain in effect.
Legislative history
First introduced by Rep. Hinchey in 2001, the amendment was withdrawn before it could be brought to a vote. In 2003, Hinchey joined with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher to re-introduce the amendment, leading to a 152–273 defeat the first time the amendment was voted on. The Hinchey–Rohrabacher amendment failed five more times over the next decade, until it passed the House (as the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment) by a 219–189 vote on May 30, 2014, as an attachment to the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2015. The amendment was then introduced in the Senate by Sens. Rand Paul and Cory Booker on June 18, but was not allowed a vote. In December, however, the amendment was inserted into the $1.1 trillion "cromnibus" spending bill during final negotiations, and the bill was signed into law by President Obama on December 16, 2014.
The Rohrabacher–Farr amendment passed the House for a second time on June 3, 2015, by a 242–186 margin. It was voted on by members of the Senate for the first time on June 11, 2015, winning approval in a 21–9 Senate Appropriations Committee vote led by sponsor Barbara Mikulski. The amendment remained in the FY 2016 omnibus appropriations bill that was signed into law by President Obama on December 18, 2015.
The Rohrabacher–Farr amendment was not voted on by the House in 2016, but did pass the Senate Appropriations Committee for a second time on April 21, 2016, by a 21–8 vote. The amendment was later renewed through a pair of spending bills signed into law on September 29 and December 10, and again for an additional week on April 28, 2017.
On May 5, 2017, the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment was renewed through September 30, 2017, as part of a $1 trillion spending bill signed into law by President Trump. In regards to the medical cannabis provision, Trump added a signing statement that read: "Division B, section 537 provides that the Department of Justice may not use any funds to prevent implementation of medical marijuana laws by various States and territories. I will treat this provision consistently with my constitutional responsibility to take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Days before the spending bill was signed into law, Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote to congressional leaders urging that the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment not be renewed.
On July 27, 2017, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved inclusion of the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment in the CJS appropriations bill for fiscal year 2018, in a voice vote led by sponsor Sen. Patrick Leahy. On September 6, however, the House Committee on Rules blocked a vote on the amendment, due to Republican leadership viewing it as too divisive. The amendment was then renewed on September 8 as part of an emergency aid package, and again through a series of stopgap spending bills on December 8, December 22, January 22, and February 9. On March 23 the amendment was renewed as part of the FY 2018 omnibus spending bill, in effect through September 30, 2018.
On May 17, 2018, the House Appropriations Committee approved inclusion of the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment in the CJS appropriations bill for fiscal year 2019, in a voice vote led by sponsor Rep. David Joyce. The Senate Appropriations Committee followed on June 12 by approving a base CJS appropriations bill with the amendment included. The amendment was then renewed through a series of short-term spending bills signed on September 28, December 7, and January 25. On February 15 the amendment was renewed through the signing of the FY 2019 omnibus spending bill, effective through September 30, 2019. President Trump added a signing statement regarding the amendment similar to the one he added in May 2017.