According to this Mlive article, U.S Representative Justin Amash and Representative Ted Lieu introduced the “Stop Civil Asset Forfeiture Funding for Marijuana Suppression Act” with the goal of dismantling the Drug Enforcement Administration’s marijuana enforcement program. The current DEA marijuana program in place since 1979 in Hawaii and California and expanded by 1985 to all 50 states. The bill is designed to block any federal funds from reaching federal, state, or local law enforcement for any (similar) programs relating to marijuana.
“Civil asset forfeiture allows innocent people to have their property taken without sufficient due process, and this program encourages civil asset forfeiture by allowing the DEA to use the proceeds of seized property to fund marijuana prohibition enforcement,” Amash said in a statement. “This is especially troubling given that the federal government should not be expending resources on marijuana prohibition—enforcement is a state-level issue, and an increasing number of states are deciding to back off from prohibition.”
Tax and Regulate Marijuana Grown on Public Lands
“The solution to marijuana being grown on public lands is to tax and regulate it like alcohol,” Dan Riffle, director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement. “There’s a reason we don’t see headlines about cartels growing illicit fields of hops and barley or grapes in our national parks. Under prohibition, drug cartels and criminals control the trade, and they don’t obey the law. Law abiding, licensed businesses do. Marijuana is safer than alcohol and should be treated that way.”
A Bill Amish co-sponsored back in 2013 to stop federal authorities from prosecuting people abiding by state law has actually yet to be introduced.
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