The issue focused on federal rules under which medical marijuana patients would be permitted to grow their own medical cannabis. Lawmakers also failed to address legislation legalizing recreational use of the drug.

While legislators saw legalization as a legal rights issue, citizens could benefit from laws giving people rights they never had before. Legalization would let law enforcement officers enforce laws against illegal drugs and criminal behavior that might otherwise go unpunished. Law enforcement officials may even find law enforcement easier and less costly if law enforcement enforcement enforcement laws prohibit medical