>It seems the states won that one, for whatever reason. Congress used the power of the purse to forbid the Federal Government spending any money to prosecute t

>It seems the states won that one, for whatever reason. Congress used the power of the purse to forbid the Federal Government spending any money to prosecute those in states that had made medical pot legal. >Congress included a provision in the 2015 spending bill prohibiting the DOJ from using any funds to prevent states that have legalized the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana from implementing these laws. In doing so, Congress was using the “power of the purse” as a check on executive power, one of its most important constitutional prerogatives. As James Madison wrote in the Federalist Papers, this power “may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect every just and salutary measure.” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/04/obamas-medical-marijuana-prosecutions-probably-arent-legal.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/04/obamas-medical-m... Congress has renewed that provision every year since, and made it clear to the Trump administration that they would extend the ban to include states that had passed full legalization instead of just medical marijuana, if forced to do so.