{
  "id": "R43437",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R43437",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 440825,
      "date": "2015-04-08",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:15:59.031683",
      "title": "Marijuana: Medical and Retail\u2014An Abbreviated View of Selected Legal Issues",
      "summary": "The federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) outlaws the possession, cultivation, and distribution of marijuana except for authorized research. More than 20 states have regulatory schemes that allow possession, cultivation, and distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Four have revenue regimes that allow possession, cultivation, and sale generally. The U.S. Constitution\u2019s Supremacy Clause preempts any state law that conflicts with federal law. Although there is some division, the majority of state courts have concluded that the federal-state marijuana law conflict does not require preemption of state medical marijuana laws. The legal consequences of a CSA violation, however, remain in place. Nevertheless, current federal criminal enforcement guidelines counsel confining investigations and prosecutions to the most egregious affront to federal interests.\nLegal and ethical considerations limit the extent to which an attorney may advise and assist a client intent on participating in his or her state\u2019s medical or recreational marijuana system. Bar associations differ on the precise boundaries of those limitations.\nState medical marijuana laws grant registered patients, their doctors, and providers immunity from the consequences of state law. The Washington, Colorado, Oregon, and Alaska retail marijuana regimes authorize the commercial exploitation of the marijuana market in small taxable doses.\nThe present and potential consequences of a CSA violation can be substantial. Cultivation or sale of marijuana on all but the smallest scale invites a five-year mandatory minimum prison term. Revenues and the property used to generate them may merely be awaiting federal collection under federal forfeiture laws. Federal tax laws deny marijuana entrepreneurs the benefits available to other businesses. Banks may afford marijuana merchants financial services only if the bank files a suspicious activity report (SAR) for every marijuana-related transaction that exceeds certain monetary thresholds, and only if it conducts a level of due diligence into its customers\u2019 activities sufficient to unearth any affront to federal interests.\nMarijuana users may not possess a firearm or ammunition. They may not hold federal security clearances. They may not operate commercial trucks, buses, trains, or planes. Federal contractors and private employers may be free to refuse to hire them and to fire them. If fired, they may be ineligible for unemployment compensation. They may be denied federally assisted housing. \nAt the heart of the federal-state conflict lies a disagreement over dangers and benefits inherent in marijuana use. The CSA authorizes research on controlled substances, including those in Schedule I such as marijuana, that may address those questions. Members have introduced a number of bills in the 114th Congress that speak to the conflict. Additionally, a few marijuana-related provisions were enacted into law late in the 113th Congress.\nThis report is an abridged form, without footnotes or citations to authority, of CRS Report R43435, Marijuana: Medical and Retail\u2014Selected Legal Issues, by Todd Garvey, Charles Doyle, and David H. Carpenter. Portions of this report have been borrowed from CRS Report R43034, State Legalization of Recreational Marijuana: Selected Legal Issues, by Todd Garvey and Brian T. Yeh.",
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 2496,
          "name": "Crime and Punishment"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc284465/",
      "id": "R43437_2014Mar25",
      "date": "2014-03-25",
      "retrieved": "2014-05-06T21:21:54",
      "title": "Marijuana: Medical and Retail -- An Abbreviated View of Selected Legal Issues",
      "summary": "This report discusses the federal law regarding marijuana that is classified as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. The federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) outlaws the possession, cultivation, or distribution of marijuana except for authorized research.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
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          "filename": "files/20140325_R43437_71094b36598ca16b55e70dbd08b4ff83f0d35f80.pdf"
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      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Marijuana",
          "name": "Marijuana"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Cannabis",
          "name": "Cannabis"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Drug abuse",
          "name": "Drug abuse"
        }
      ]
    }
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  "topics": []
}