Federal Marijuana Hearing Could Be Victim of Shutdown

Discussion about enforcement as more states decriminalize or legalize scheduled for Wednesday

One of the first victims of a government shutdown may be a congressional hearing on marijuana laws.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Government Operations is scheduled to hold a hearing Wednesday on the White House's drug control policy "in the wake of the DOJ's decision not to enforce federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized it," the panel said in a statement. "This hearing will also explore the effects of legalization, including the social costs of increased marijuana use."

But if there's no agreement on a federal budget, the hearing will be postponed, the committee said.