# The STATES Act of 2022: What It Actually Does

The STATES Act is about giving individual states more power to make their own decisions regarding marijuana without federal interference. Right now, marijuana is illegal under federal law, even though many states have legalized it for medical or recreational use. This creates a confusing situation where something can be legal in your state but illegal according to the federal government. The STATES Act would change this by saying that if a state legalizes marijuana, the federal government won't prosecute people or businesses following that state's laws.

This matters because it would protect people in states with legal marijuana from federal prosecution, and it would allow banks and businesses to work with marijuana companies without fear of federal penalties. Currently, many banks won't touch marijuana money because they're worried about federal consequences, which forces the industry to operate mostly in cash. The act would also let researchers study marijuana more easily since federal restrictions would no longer apply in states where it's legal. Essentially, it's about letting states decide their own marijuana policy rather than having the federal government override those decisions.

The practical effect is that states with legal marijuana would have much more freedom to regulate and tax the industry like any other business, and people living in those states wouldn't have to worry about federal agents coming after them for following their state's laws. However, the act doesn't force any state to legalize marijuana—it just says the federal government can't interfere if a state chooses to allow it.

STATES Act of 2022

Gohmert, Louie

Sustaining Tenth Amendment Truths for Every State Act of 2022 or the STATES Act of 2022 This bill provides that an action of a state agency taken pursuant to state law shall have effect within the state notwithstanding federal law to the contrary, if the federal law purports to apply under authority to create such law that is not explicitly delegated to the federal government within the stated words of the U.S. Constitution.