Whether the Department of Justice may criminally investigate and prosecute individuals licensed for medical marijuana under the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment, and what standard of compliance applies

Since December 2014, Congressional appropriations for the Department of Justice have included the following provision: None of the funds made available under this Act to the Department of Justice may be used, with respect to any of [an enumerated list of states and territories who have legalized medical marijuana], to prevent any of them from implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana. Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Pub. L. No. 117328, § 531, 136 Stat. 4459, 4561 (2022) (the “RohrabacherFarr Amendment”). The questions presented are: (1) Given this prohibition on the use of appropriated funds, under what circumstances may the Department of Justice criminally investigate and prosecute an individual who is licensed or otherwise authorized to use, distribute, possess, or cultivate medical marijuana? (2) Does the burden fall on the Government to show it is in continued compliance with appropriation law; or does it fall with the to demonstrate “substantial compliance” with state laws and ii regulations regarding medical marijuana, as the First Circuit has held or that he or she is in “strict compliance,” as the Ninth Circuit has held? (3) What would be the proper test for the to demonstrate either strict or substantial compliance? iii RELATED CASES There are two related cases from the First Circuit: United States v. Sirois , No. 23-1721, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Judgment Entered October 15, 2024, Petition for Rehearing Denied November 14, 2024; and United States v. Sirois , No. 23-1723, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Judgment Entered October 15, 2024, Petition for Rehearing Denied November 14, 2024. There is one related case from the District Court: United States v. Sirois , No. 21-cr-00175, United States District Court for the District of Maine, Pending.