The $1.1 trillion federal budget bill passed last week by Congress and signed by President Trump forbids the U.S. Department of Justice from using federal funds to interfere with state medical marijuana policies.

The prohibition has been in force since 2014 and is known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, the first federal law ever passed to provide some protection for medical marijuana patients.

The extension lasts only until September 30, the end of the current fiscal year, and there is no guarantee that its protections will be extended in the fiscal year 2018 federal budget.

At the same time, a Department of Justice official sent a letter to members of the department’s Trustee Program which is responsible for overseeing the administration of bankruptcy cases and private trustees. In the letter, Cliff White, director of the Trustee Program, reminded trustees that marijuana remains illegal under federal law and that trustees should not be “placed in the untenable position of violating federal law by liquidating, receiving proceeds from, or in any way administering marijuana assets.”

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has introduced legislation that would, among other things, provide bankruptcy protection for companies in the marijuana business.

Trump Spurns Congress as He Signals Medical Marijuana Fight
President Donald Trump signaled he may ignore a congressional ban on interfering with state medical marijuana laws, arguing in a lengthy statement that he isn’t legally bound by a series of limits lawmakers imposed on him.

Trump issued the “signing statement” Friday after he signed a measure funding the government for the remainder of the federal fiscal year, reprising a controversial tactic former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama used while in office.

Trump also suggested he may ignore gender and racial preferences in some government programs as well as congressional requirements for advance notice before taking a range of foreign policy and military actions.

Read more at Bloomberg.

Judge Blasts ‘Ridiculous’ 18-year Sentence for Marijuana
Is 18 years in prison without the possibility of parole too harsh for a man arrested with 18 grams of marijuana? The Louisiana Supreme Court’s chief justice thinks so, and she blasted her colleagues for upholding the punishment.

In a withering dissent Wednesday, Chief Justice Bernette Johnson called it “outrageous” and “ridiculous” that the state’s highest court affirmed the lengthy prison sentence for such a small amount of marijuana — enough for at least 18 marijuana cigarettes.

A jury convicted Gary D. Howard of marijuana possession with intent to distribute and a Caddo Parish judge sentenced him as a habitual offender in 2014. Howard’s previous convictions include possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in 2008.

Johnson questioned whether it was a mere coincidence — or an “arbitrary” decision — that Howard’s sentence amounted to one year per gram of marijuana that police found during a 2013 search of his girlfriend’s home in Shreveport.

“As a practical matter, in light of the inconsequential amount of marijuana found, imprisoning defendant for this extreme length of time at a cost of about $23,000 per year (costing our state over $400,000 in total) provides little societal value and only serves to further burden our financially strapped state and its tax payers,” she wrote.

Read more at ABC News.

Medical Marijuana Company Wants to Invest Millions into Bay County
A medical marijuana company has approached Bangor Township [Michigan] about investing $21 million to purchase and convert an old factory building into a grow and distribution facility.

But before the controversial industry comes to town, the township’s board of trustees needs to throw its support behind it. A discussion takes place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 9, at Bangor Township Hall, 180 State Park Drive. It’s unclear at this time if the board is going to make any formal decisions on the matter Tuesday evening.

The company, which township officials are declining to name, hopes to purchase the old Dow Chemical Co. and Crane Resistoflex building at 4675 E. Wilder Road and hire 140 people to work at the plant. If plans come to fruition, the plant would supply medical marijuana to 50 percent of the company’s dispensaries across the state.

Township Supervisor Glenn Rowley supports the idea because of the potential economic boom it could bring to the township and Bay County.

Read more at MLive.

Michigan May Have a Marijuana Legalization Measure on the 2018 Ballot
Pro-marijuana groups in Michigan submitted language to the Board of State Canvassers on Friday for a ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana. If the measure makes it to the November 2018 ballot, Michigan would become the ninth state to fully legalize cannabis for adult use. Spearheaded by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the legalization push follows a failed attempt to get a similar measure on the November 2016 ballot.

“Our country’s marijuana prohibition laws have failed miserably. About 20,000 nonviolent offenders are arrested annually for marijuana possession and cultivation, causing an enormous waste of taxpayer dollars and choking our already overburdened court system,” John Truscott, a spokesman for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said in a press release.

“This initiative would make Michigan a leader in responsible adult-use marijuana laws, while also creating an entirely new industry and generating badly needed tax revenue for our state,” he added. The Coalition is bolstered by a national marijuana advocacy group, the D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which is expected to bring experience and cash to the 2018 campaign.

The group backed some of the campaigns that wound up on ballots last November, when California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada passed measures that legalized adult use. In total, eight states and D.C. have legalized recreational pot. Dozens more have legalized medical marijuana. Michigan voters passed a medical marijuana measure in 2008.

Read more at Law Street.

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