Congressmen: DOJ ‘Defies Logic’ in Continuing MMJ Crackdown

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A pair of congressmen from California have decried the Department of Justice’s interpretation of a measure passed into law last December that forbids federal departments from using funds to go after those in the marijuana business.

Republican Dana Rohrabacher and Democrat Sam Farr were co-sponsors of the amendment to the broad federal spending bill signed into law in December 2014.

In spite of the congressional action, the DOJ has continued in its quest to prosecute certain medical marijuana companies and individuals in recent months. The DOJ has said it believes the amendment doesn’t apply to individuals and businesses.

“The congressman believes the amendment’s language is perfectly clear and that the DOJ’s self-referential interpretation is emphatically wrong,” a Rohrabacher spokesman told The Huffington Post.

Farr’s spokesman added, “The Justice Department’s interpretation of the amendment defies logic… Lawyers can try to mince words but Congress was clear: Stop going after patients and dispensaries.”