Funding for the federal government is set to run out on Friday, unless Congress enacts a bill extending current spending levels before the midnight deadline.
Also set to expire is a current rider that prevents the Department of Justice from interfering with state medical cannabis laws, according to Forbes.
If lawmakers fail to enact an extension, the marijuana protections would disappear but, because drug enforcement agents are considered "excepted" from furloughs, the Justice Department would be newly empowered to enforce federal cannabis prohibition wherever it wants, regardless of state laws.