Bill Would Prevent DEA From Using Federal Forfeiture Money for Marijuana Eradication

A bill introduced this month by two U.S. representatives would prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from using federal civil forfeiture funds to pay for its marijuana eradication program, according to Forbes.

Civil asset forfeiture enables police to take away property from individuals who have not been convicted of a crime, explained bill co-author Ted W. Lieu of California. The bill is also sponsored by Justin Amash of Michigan.

According to the DEA, its Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program was responsible for the eradication of 3.9 million cultivated outdoor cannabis plants and 396,620 indoor plants last year. The program accounted for 6,310 arrests and the seizure of more than $27.3 million dollars of cultivator assets. The program also removed 4,989 weapons from cannabis cultivators.

The congressmen said the DEA spent $18 million on the program in 2014. “As multiple states legalize marijuana across our nation, it is a huge waste of federal resources for the DEA to eradicate marijuana,” Representative Lieu said in a news release.

The bill would ban transferring property to federal, state or local agencies if the property was used for any purpose related to the DEA’s marijuana eradication program, the article notes.

“Civil asset forfeiture allows innocent people to have their property taken without sufficient due process, and this program encourages civil asset forfeiture by allowing the DEA to use the proceeds of seized property to fund marijuana prohibition enforcement,” said Congressman Amash.