About the bill
There aren’t many issues that would unite Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), one of the most progressive Democrat senators from one of the bluest states, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), one of the most libertarian Republican senators from one of the reddest states. But they’ve teamed up for S. 683, the CARERS (Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States) Act, which would reshape the status of medical marijuana in this country.
Existing law
The relationship between federal and state law on medical marijuana is somewhat tricky. 23 states plus the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, with potentially several more added to that list before the end of the year. However, marijuana technically remains illegal on the federal level in any form — whether medical or recreational.
Whether state …
Sponsor and status
114th Congress (2015–2017)
This bill was introduced on March 23, 2015, in a previous session of Congress, but it did not receive a vote.
Although this bill was not enacted, its provisions could have become law by being included in another bill. It is common for legislative text to be introduced concurrently in multiple bills (called companion bills), re-introduced in subsequent sessions of Congress in new bills, or added to larger bills (sometimes called omnibus bills).
43 Cosponsors (29 Democrats, 14 Republicans)
Position statements
What legislators are saying
“Bipartisan Medical Marijuana Bill Gains Momentum in House and Senate”
—
Rep. Steve Cohen [D-TN9]
(Sponsor)
on Mar 31, 2015
“Congressmen Young Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Increase States Rights to Regulate Medical Marijuana”
—
Rep. Don Young [R-AK, 1973-2022]
(Co-sponsor)
on Mar 24, 2015
“Congressmen Cohen & Young Introduce Bipartisan House Companion to Sens. Rand Paul, Cory Booker & Kirsten Gillibrands Medical Marijuana Legislation”
—
Rep. Steve Cohen [D-TN9]
(Sponsor)
on Mar 24, 2015
History
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Mar 23, 2015
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Introduced
Bills and resolutions are referred to committees which debate the bill before possibly sending it on to the whole chamber. |
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Jun 15, 2017
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Reintroduced Bill —
Introduced
This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 2920 (115th). |
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Jan 3, 2019
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Reintroduced Bill —
Introduced
This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 127 (116th). |
H.R. 1538 (114th) was a bill in the United States Congress.
A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law.
Bills numbers restart every two years. That means there are other bills with the number H.R. 1538. This is the one from the 114th Congress.
This bill was introduced in the 114th Congress, which met from Jan 6, 2015 to Jan 3, 2017. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.
How to cite this information.
We recommend the following MLA-formatted citation when using the information you see here in academic work:
“H.R. 1538 — 114th Congress: CARERS Act of 2015.” www.GovTrack.us. 2015. June 8, 2023 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr1538>
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Where is this information from?
GovTrack automatically collects legislative information from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources. This page is sourced primarily from Congress.gov, the official portal of the United States Congress. Congress.gov is generally updated one day after events occur, and so legislative activity shown here may be one day behind. Data via the congress project.
