Colorado and Washington residents can use welfare money to buy marijuana

Welfare recipients are able to use their EBT cards to purchase marijuana in states where selling the drug has been legalized.

The Washington Times reports that Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) "announced that he was drafting legislation to close the welfare-for-weed loophole after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to him that marijuana shops were not off limits."

Congress approved legislation in 2011 that prohibits using welfare money on "vice institutions" such as liquor stores, strip clubs, and casinos. The Department of Health and Human Services, however, did not interpret that law to include marijuana shops.

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"The federal government currently spends roughly $750 billion each year on means-tested welfare programs," Sessions said. "Surely we can all agree that the guiding principle ought to be that benefits are reserved for those in real need."