Titus Won't Support Appropriations Bill Without Pot Protections

LAS VEGAS, NV - A Nevada congresswoman on Tuesday said she wouldn't support any appropriations bill if state marijuana laws weren't protected. The comments made by Rep. Dina Titus (D-Las Vegas) come days after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the decision to rescind the 2013 Cole Memorandum, which allowed states to govern marijuana use as they see fit.

Since July 1, 2017, when recreational use became legal, the state of Nevada has generated $20 million in tax revenue and the industry has led to the creation of thousands of jobs. That's one of the reasons Nevada's federal delegation, and Governor Brian Sandoval, urged Sessions to view marijuana regulation as a states' rights issue instead of a Justice Department priority after the announcement last week.

Titus represents Nevada's 1st congressional district, home to the city of Las Vegas and most of Clark County's 47 retail establishments. On Tuesday she addressed a letter to House leaders Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi expressing her refusal to vote for any appropriations bill that doesn't protect states' right on marijuana.

"I urge you to ensure that it maintains current protections from federal government interference in state and territorial legal medical marijuana laws," Titus wrote.

The letter continued, saying, "Given the recent decision by the Attorney General to rescind certain directives to federal prosecutors on this subject, it is imperative that states like Nevada and the 45 others and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam, which have legalized marijuana in some form, not be subjected to federal overreach. Given the importance of this issue to my Congressional District, should any final package not include such protections, I will be forced to oppose."

Titus has long been a proponent of Nevada's legalized marijuana industry and spoke in support of it at a press conference at the Apothecary Shoppe in Las Vegas on Jan. 4 following Sessions' announcement that he would rescind the Cole Memo.

On Monday, Rep. Jacky Rosen of Nevada's 3rd congressional district and a 2018 senate candidate, joined Titus in cosponsoring H.R. 975, the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act introduced in February 2017. Titus was an original cosponsor of the bill.

Image via Cathleen Allison/Associated Press