With the threat of a government shutdown delayed until December 22, there is now some breathing room, but Rohrabacher-Blumenauer is still at risk of not making it through the conference committee because of Paul Ryan and Pete Sessions have bottled up the amendments process in the House.
I dont know what went through his head, in terms of preventing us from having a vote on the floor of the House, Blumenauer said, referring to Pete Sessions. I think before the year is over that Pete is going to find out that position is not popular in Texas.
For now, marijuana amendments are out of order. That means that the extension of these protections rests squarely on the shoulders of the Senate, where a companion amendment to Rohrabacher-Blumenauer sponsored by Pat Leahy passed by a voice vote in July without much fanfare or controversy.
Leahys office did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story, but Leahys counterpart, Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Mississippi, told POLITICO Magazine through a spokesman, As you know, medical marijuana-related provisions in the Senate bills were approved with bipartisan support, a statement that is sure to leave House Republican leadership feeling a little frosty with their Senate Republican colleagues seemingly unwilling to back them up on a fight that House leadership has picked.
Its still unclear how marijuana reform will fare in the conference committee. It all comes down to how much Leahy cares to fight about this behind closed doors, Tom Angell told POLITICO Magazine. Thats what it comes down to.
At time of writing, Congressional leaders had not yet settled upon top line numbers for military and nonmilitary spending to even begin negotiations that would lead to a conference committee, where smaller issues like marijuana will get sorted out. Still, with a certain amount of confusion in the air, optimism for continued reform was winning the day.
Its more trouble than it should be, but I think it will ultimately be protected, Blumenauer told POLITICO Magazine. And whats going on right now is going to accelerate further reform.
Looking forward to the 2018 midterm elections as Congress continues to hemorrhage incumbents (including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, a powerful anti-marijuana voice), even safe Republican seats are likely to be filled by younger Republicans who tend to support marijuana law reform. Just by the generational shift, replacing older members with younger members, is going to put us in a better situation whether or not those districts flip parties, Angell said. If you look towards next year, theres like 35 gubernatorial races, and theres a ton of major party candidates who are on the record in favor of legalization.
As for Kevin Sabet and his anti-marijuana group SAM, We have raised more money this year than ever before, Sabet said, meaning they will be out there fighting against the forces of legalization in 2018.