Top Senate Democrat Pushes Bill To End Marijuana Prohibition

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Apr 19, 2018 @ 04:19 PM 15,715
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Top Senate Democrat Pushes Bill To End Marijuana Prohibition
Tom Angell , Contributor
I cover the policy and politics of marijuana
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.


In one of the clearest signs yet that the politics of marijuana are rapidly shifting in favor of those who support legalization, one of Congress's most vocal longtime proponents of the war on drugs is filing legislation to end federal cannabis prohibition.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York announced on Thursday that he will soon introduce a bill to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act altogether so that states can set their own policies.

"The legislation is long overdue," he said in an interview with VICE News. "I've seen too many people's lives ruined because they had small amounts of marijuana and served time in jail much too long."

The news comes on the same day that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) joined two other potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates in sponsoring even more far-reaching marijuana legislation.

That bill, the Marijuana Justice Act, would not only exempt cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, but would also withhold funding from states that have racially disparate marijuana enforcement rates.

“With this announcement, Senator Schumer has effectively made it clear that a legislative priority for the Democratic Party is to end the federal prohibition of marijuana," Justin Strekal, political director of NORML, said. "As Democratic Leader, it is his role to ensure that the caucus as a whole falls in line with this public policy position -- a position that is held by more than 60 percent of Americans."

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2018/04/19/top-senate-democrat-pushes-bill-to-end-marijuana-prohibition/#643583526051

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