I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1538 
To extend the principle of federalism to State drug policy, provide access 
to medical marijuana, and enable research into the medicinal properties 
of marijuana. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 23, 2015 
Mr. COHEN (for himself and Mr. YOUNG of Alaska) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 
in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, and 
Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To extend the principle of federalism to State drug policy, 
provide access to medical marijuana, and enable research 
into the medicinal properties of marijuana. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Compassionate Access, 
Research Expansion, and Respect States Act of 2015’’ or 
the ‘‘CARERS Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. FEDERALISM IN DRUG POLICY. 
Section 708 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 
U.S.C. 903) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘No provision’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), no provision’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE WITH STATE LAW.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the provisions of this 
title relating to marihuana shall not apply to any person 
acting in compliance with State law relating to the produc-
tion, possession, distribution, dispensation, administra-
tion, laboratory testing, or delivery of medical mari-
huana.’’. 
SEC. 3. RESCHEDULING OF MARIHUANA. 
(a) REMOVAL FROM SCHEDULE I.—Schedule I, as 
set forth in section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances 
Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)), is amended in subsection (c)— 
(1) by striking paragraphs (10) and (17); 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (11) through 
(16) as paragraphs (10) through (15), respectively; 
and 
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (18) through 
(28) as paragraphs (16) through (26), respectively. 
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(b) LISTING IN SCHEDULE II.—Schedule II, as set 
forth in section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act 
(21 U.S.C. 812(c)), is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(d) Unless specifically excepted or unless listed in 
another schedule, any material, compound, mixture, or 
preparation, which contains any quantity of marihuana, 
including its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers.’’. 
SEC. 4. EXCLUSION OF CANNABIDIOL FROM DEFINITION OF 
MARIHUANA. 
Section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 
U.S.C. 802) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (16)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or cake, or the sterilized’’ 
and inserting ‘‘cake, the sterilized’’; and 
(B) by adding ‘‘, or cannabidiol’’ before 
the period at the end; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(57) The term ‘cannabidiol’ means the sub-
stance cannabidiol, as derived from marihuana or 
the synthetic formulation, that contains not greater 
than 0.3 percent delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on a 
dry weight basis.’’. 
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SEC. 5. CANNABIDIOL DETERMINATION BY STATES. 
Section 201 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 
U.S.C. 811) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(j) CANNABIDIOL DETERMINATION.—If a person 
grows or processes marihuana for purposes of making 
cannabidiol in accordance with State law, the marihuana 
shall be deemed to meet the concentration limitation under 
section 102(57), unless the Attorney General determines 
that the State law is not reasonably calculated to comply 
with section 102(57).’’. 
SEC. 6. BANKING. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘depository institution’’ means— 
(A) a depository institution as defined in 
section 3(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(c)); 
(B) a Federal credit union as defined in 
section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act 
(12 U.S.C. 1752); or 
(C) a State credit union as defined in sec-
tion 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 
U.S.C. 1752); 
(2) the term ‘‘Federal banking regulator’’ 
means each of the Board of Governors of the Fed-
eral Reserve System, the Bureau of Consumer Fi-
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nancial Protection, the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency, the National Credit Union Administra-
tion, or any Federal agency or department that reg-
ulates banking or financial services, as determined 
by the Secretary of the Treasury; 
(3) the term ‘‘financial service’’ means a finan-
cial product or service as defined in section 1002 of 
the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5481); 
(4) the term ‘‘manufacturer’’ means a person 
who manufactures, compounds, converts, processes, 
prepares, or packages marijuana or marijuana prod-
ucts; 
(5) the term ‘‘marijuana-related legitimate busi-
ness’’ means a manufacturer, producer, or any per-
son that— 
(A) participates in any business or orga-
nized activity that involves handling marijuana 
or marijuana products, including selling, trans-
porting, displaying, dispensing, or distributing 
marijuana or marijuana products; and 
(B) engages in such activity pursuant to a 
law established by a State or a unite of local 
government; 
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