H.R. 1983: States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act

112th Congress · introduced 2011-05-25 · Health · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2011-05-25 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Frank, Barney [D-MA-4] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act

Plain summary

States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), within six months of enactment of this Act, to submit to the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) a recommendation on the listing of marijuana within the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and to recommend listing it as other than a Schedule I or Schedule II substance. Requires the Administrator of DEA, within 12 months of enactment of this Act, based upon the recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences, to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking for the rescheduling of marijuana within the CSA, which shall include a recommendation to list marijuana as other than a Schedule I or Schedule II substance. Declares that no provision of the CSA or the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act shall prohibit or otherwise restrict, in a state in which the medical use of marijuana is legal under state law: (1) the prescription or recommendation of marijuana for medical use by a medical professional or the certification by a medical professional that a patient has a condition for which marijuana may have therapeutic benefit; (2) an individual from obtaining, manufacturing, possessing, or transporting within their state marijuana for medical purposes, provided the activities are authorized under state law; (3) a pharmacy or other entity authorized to distribute medical marijuana from obtaining, possessing, or distributing marijuana to authorized individuals; or (4) an entity authorized by a state or local government from producing, processing, or distributing marijuana for such purposes.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Frank, Barney [D-MA-4] · 22 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Steve Cohen (D-TN), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112hr1983.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/hr>

Record fed-us-cong112-hr1983 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112