On November 27, 2012, three weeks after Colorado and Washington voted to legalize marijuana, Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat, introduced H.R. 6606, the Respect States’ and Citizens’ Rights Act of 2012. The one-page bill would have stopped the federal Controlled Substances Act from overriding state marijuana laws. It never got a vote, but its idea, letting states set their own marijuana policy, came back in Congress for more than a decade as the STATES Act.
What Happened
According to the bill text, DeGette introduced H.R. 6606 with nine original cosponsors from both parties: Mike Coffman of Colorado, Ron Paul of Texas, Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Sam Farr and Barbara Lee of California, Jared Polis of Colorado, Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Raúl Grijalva of Arizona. It was referred to the House Judiciary and Energy and Commerce committees.
The bill amended Section 708 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 903), the section that governs how federal drug law interacts with state law. It added a special rule: for any state law “that pertains to marihuana,” no provision of the federal act would be read as Congress intending to “occupy the field,” including criminal penalties, and none would be construed as preempting the state law.
(Our original 2012 post called DeGette a Republican. She is a Democrat; Coffman, her Colorado cosponsor, was the Republican.)
Background
On November 6, 2012, voters approved Colorado’s Amendment 64 and Washington’s Initiative 502, the first laws in the country to legalize marijuana for adults. Both conflicted with federal law, and nobody knew whether the Justice Department would sue to block them or prosecute the new businesses. That story is told in our article on Amendment 64 and I-502. H.R. 6606 was Congress’s first response, filed in the lame-duck session, when there was no realistic chance of action before the 112th Congress ended.
The bill was narrower than full legalization. It did not remove marijuana from the federal schedules; it only told courts not to treat the federal law as overriding state marijuana laws. A broader bill to end federal prohibition had been filed the year before, covered in our story on the 2011 Frank-Paul bill.
What Happened Next
H.R. 6606 died when the Congress ended in January 2013. DeGette reintroduced it on March 5, 2013, as H.R. 964, with Coffman as cosponsor. It again received no vote. In August 2013 the Justice Department instead issued the Cole memo, a policy of not targeting state-legal businesses that met federal priorities, explained in our article on the Ogden and Cole memos.
The states’-rights approach returned in later bills:
- Rohrabacher-Farr amendment (2014): A budget rider barring the Justice Department from spending money to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. It passed the House in May 2014 and became law in December 2014, and it must be renewed each year, according to its history. It is the only version of this idea that has become law, and it covers medical programs only.
- STATES Act (2018): Introduced June 7, 2018, by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Gardner as S. 3032 and by Reps. David Joyce and Earl Blumenauer as H.R. 6043. DeGette was a House cosponsor. The next day, President Trump said he “probably will end up supporting” it, UPI reported.
- STATES Act (2019): Reintroduced April 4, 2019, as H.R. 2093 and S. 1028.
- STATES 2.0 Act: Introduced by Joyce in December 2023 and again in April 2025, according to the congressman’s office.
None of the STATES bills has received a floor vote.
Where It Stands in 2026
Congress has still not passed a law protecting state marijuana programs from federal law. In April 2026 a DOJ/DEA final order moved FDA-approved marijuana products and marijuana held under a state medical marijuana license to Schedule III. Adult-use and unlicensed marijuana remain in Schedule I, and a broader rescheduling proceeding was stayed in September 2026. Details are on our federal marijuana laws page, and state-by-state rules are on our cannabis laws page.
Respect States’ and Citizens’ Rights Act FAQ
What was the Respect States’ and Citizens’ Rights Act of 2012?
H.R. 6606, introduced November 27, 2012, by Rep. Diana DeGette. It would have amended the Controlled Substances Act so that federal law did not preempt state marijuana laws.
Did H.R. 6606 pass?
No. It was referred to committee and never received a vote. A 2013 version, H.R. 964, also died.
How is the STATES Act different?
The STATES Act, first filed in 2018, follows the same idea but adds conditions, such as minimum ages, that state programs must meet to be exempt from federal law.
Is there any federal protection for state marijuana programs?
Only for medical programs, through the yearly Rohrabacher-Farr spending rider, and since April 2026 through Schedule III status for marijuana held under a state medical license. Adult-use marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Originally reported by The Weed Street Journal; rewritten and updated in October 2026 with what happened next.
