Bernie Sanders Backs Bill To Punish States With Harsh Marijuana Laws

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Forbes

Tom Angell

Several potential rival presidential candidates are teaming up on legislation to end the federal war on marijuana.

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is signing on as a co-sponsor of the Marijuana Justice Act, introduced last year by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).

Many political observers expect that Booker and Sanders will compete for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), another rumored contender, is also a co-sponsor of the bill.

Although the three senators may be just months away from the start of a hard-fought political nominating contest, they are linking arms in support of the most far-reaching cannabis reform bill ever to have been filed in Congress.

FULL story at link below.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2018/04/19/bernie-sanders-backs-bill-to-punish-states-with-bad-marijuana-laws/#64d8694929d0

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Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

[Amimnoch]

1. I like Senator Booker. I think its a great bill he introduced.

I’d support a 2020 run of such a great Democratic Party Senator.

[NurseJackie]

27. He's a great LEADER ... happy to see Bernie following him.

Booker is a fantastic Democrat.

[mcar]

54. I like Senator Booker too

Smart, accomplished, seems to have a good sense of humor.

I worked in Newark for a short time in the late 80s, before his time as mayor. The reports of him saving people from burning buildings, etc, impressed me.

[left-of-center2012]

2. God bless Bernie !

[R B Garr]

4. Title correction: Vermont Senator backs NJ Senator Cory Booker's Bill

[sheshe2]

5. Ummmhmmm.

See my post below, RB.

[R B Garr]

6. Exactly, she. It is Cory Booker's bill.

Does Senator Booker get blessed by God, too?? Hehe, a reference to the post I responded to....

[Amimnoch]

7. Hopefully the blue wave eventually makes Senator Bookers bill reality!

Let’s be real, the current House.. the current Senate.. the current Peeeresident.. This bill won’t make it to the floor, much less pass into law..but at least it’s out there for a 2018 then 2020 sweep!

Wouldn’t it be great poetic Justice if a President Booker got to sign his own introduced bill into law as President of the US??

[R B Garr]

11. ++yes to everything you said.

Booker got out in front of this — learning the demagoguery ropes. President Booker, interesting thought!

[sheshe2]

9. Yep.

Cory Bookers bill. Yet gets no praise only BS for signing on last years bill. I give Sanders full credit for seeing the light.

[R B Garr]

10. Yes, Sanders saw an opportunity in typical fashion.

You would think Cory Booker who introduced this legislation could at least be deserving of a God Bless Booker post, but no such luck...

[NurseJackie]

28. Yep! You've got it.

I see it too.

[Sunlei]

73. 100% of the time Sanders & Booker back each others bills along with rest of Ds.

This is late breaking news forum with strict "rules"

Unfortunately for most D "news" stories only a few manage to get interviews & have news stories that meet LBNs.

If you can find a LBN story about a Booker interview that meets LBN 'rules', please post it, thanks.

[R B Garr]

74. This is still Cory Bookers bill.

Thanks.

[Sunlei]

75. easy to see the Senators websites & see who backs a bill. rules of LBN is use exact headline.

Senator Sanders backs and votes with D bills & floor votes 100% of the time.

I think many Americans & quite a few elected- are sick & tired of States & local law using marijuana, a fucking medicinal plant- to ruin people lives.

[R B Garr]

76. Its a good thing that Cory Booker wrote this bill

Cory Booker, Senator from New Jersey (D)

[Sunlei]

77. yes, second sentence in the Forbes LBN article.

[R B Garr]

82. GREAT

[MicaelS]

85. Can't give Sanders credit for anything, can you?

[Jim Lane]

60. Subtitle addition: 44 Democrats still hiding under their desks (n/t)

[R B Garr]

61. Attacking Democrats instead of Republicans, a JPR

tactic, and one that is divisive and self-defeating. We shouldn’t be attacking our own just to grab headlines.

[christx30]

69. Politicians sometimes need to be shamed

into doing the right thing. We've got to project a united front against the republicans. Anyone that doesn't needs to get in line, or needs to make room for someone that will.

[R B Garr]

71. Stealing headlines from Democrats to promote one politicians

image sure isn’t a united front. We need to quit enabling that type of divisiveness. It didn’t work and will not work.

[George II]

43. But what about Booker, who introduced it, and Wyden and Gillibrand who co-sponsored months ago?

[sheshe2]

3. Good to know that...

Good to know that Sanders is following Bookers lead.

Good job Senators. You are both to be commended here. This is what the out reach chairman is about and unity is all about...supporting their fellow Senators proposed legislation.

Thank you Cory Booker and you Bernie Sanders in your support of Senator Bookers Marijuana Justice Act that he introduced last year.

[George II]

13. Cory Booker - now THAT is Democratic Leadership.

[sheshe2]

15. I like him a lot, George.

Cory. Kamala. Others. So many fresh faces out there for 2018 and 2020.

[bahrbearian]

14. Now if Booker can follow Bernie's lead on lower cost of Pharmaceuticals

instead of voting against it.

[sheshe2]

16. Please give me the details.

Or at least some links to the legislation Bernie has proposed that Cory voted against.

Appreciate it, TIA.

Sorry, when you home care a 91 year old mother for the last 6 months there is not a lot of time to research.

Thanks.

[bahrbearian]

17. Cory Booker And A Bunch Of Democrats Prove Trump Right On Big Pharma

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democrats-rush-to-prove-trump-right-on-big-pharma_us_5877edd4e4b0b3c7a7b05c29


?cache=1mpqcuqf3g&ops=crop_109_594_2405_1188,scalefit_720_noupscale



On Wednesday, Donald Trump said Americans were paying too much for prescription drugs because big pharmaceutical companies have too much power in Washington. “We have to … create new bidding procedures for the drug industry, because they’re getting away with murder,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “Pharma has a lot of lobbies, a lot of lobbyists and a lot of power.”

The murder spree continued into the final hour of Wednesday night, as 13 Senate Democrats proved Trump right by joining 39 Republicans to vote down a bill designed to lower prescription drug prices.

Pharmaceutical companies have the highest profit margins of any industry, and prescription drug prices are increasing by an average of over 18 percent per year. Well before Trump gave his press conference, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) had crafted a budget resolution designed to rein in medication prices by allowing cheaper, identical versions of prescription drugs to be imported from other countries, including Canada, where medicines are cheaper.

Twelve Republicans voted for the bill ― more than enough to ensure its passage. It failed by a vote of 46 to 52 because 13 Democrats opposed it

[R B Garr]

20. Politifact: Viral image about Democratic senators and "big pharma" is misleading

This had to do with the safety standards, and that is why this progaganda is misleading. I hope we don't have to keep maligning good Democrats to peddle misinformation like this. We've already been through this...

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jan/18/other-98/viral-image-about-democratic-senators-and-big-phar/

Booker:
"I support the importation of prescription drugs as a key part of a strategy to help control the skyrocketing cost of medications. Any plan to allow the importation of prescription medications should also include consumer protections that ensure foreign drugs meet American safety standards. I opposed an amendment put forward last night that didn’t meet this test."

[sheshe2]

29. Boom!

Any plan to allow the importation of prescription medications should also include consumer protections that ensure foreign drugs meet American safety standards. I opposed an amendment put forward last night that didn’t meet this test."

Thank you RB. People before policy. You have to look at the whole picture.

[ehrnst]

64. You have to wonder who benefits from that kind of slander of Democratic leaders by meme

clearly messaging to those who identify as "progressive."

Clearly it benefits someone or an entity, or there would not be a reason to propagate this kind of misniformation.

[R B Garr]

68. +1, it is pathological like the Fox News types who keep

parroting an alternate reality.

[sheshe2]

21. Aaah the one from Canada?

What You Don’t Know About Importing Drugs From Canada
February 24, 2009



Facts About Importing Drugs From Canada
Facts About Importing Drugs From Canada

1. Drugs from Canada don’t always come from Canada. According to President of CanaRX, a Canadian Web site that sells online, 70 percent of drugs sold to Americans from Canada are made elsewhere, so the drug you think you’re importing from Canada probably comes from a third world country with less stringent protections than either the US or Canada.1

2. There isn’t enough supply in Canada to satisfy U.S. demand: If half of just elderly Americans shifted their purchases to Canadian sources, it would exhaust the supply of drugs in Canada in a few months.2

3. The Canadian regulators don’t think this is a good idea. In 2008, Manitoba regulators announced they will stop licensing Internet pharmacies, because they could not oversee operations when customers all live in another country.3

4. Canada isn’t going to carefully scrutinize drugs bound for the United States. If pharmaceuticals are not earmarked for Canadian citizens, they are not subject to the Canadian government’s safety regulations. By marking the drugs “for export only,” drug exporters can bypass Canada’s safety regulations and mail fake or low-quality drugs made in China, India, and other countries notorious for ineffective and sometimes deadly products to Americans using a Canadian mailing address.

Read More: https://www.safemedicines.org/2009/02/what-you-dont-know-about-importing-drugs-from-canada.html

.....................................

Perhaps they have reservations on the safety factor for US citizens.

The bottom-line is that drug importation programs, including government sponsored programs, encourage Americans to gamble with their health, especially vulnerable patient populations such as minorities, seniors, and fixed income patients.

Please do read it all. Canada has safety regulations that protects its citizens. Kudos that we have "Cory a bunch of Democrats" that take precautions for our citizens well being. Please tell me you are not for deregulation on Americas health.

[R B Garr]

24. ++++++why would they leave out the part about SAFETY

standards?? Makes you wonder.

[NurseJackie]

30. It's obvious why... Only...

... for obvious reasons i can't say much more. You know what I'm getting at anyway, so I'll just leave it at that.

[sheshe2]

32. Yep.

Makes you wonder.

[bahrbearian]

25. So Cory doesn't take money from the Pharms and

he is only protecting us from the same drugs that Canadians use every day. You guys love your pretzel's. The bill wasn't perfect but could easily been fixed, but when you need campaign money better walk the line. You say your careing for you mother, so am I and my wife too. Our drug bills are trough the roof, my medication alone cost $5,000 a month. Yeah Bernie is just riding Booker,s coat tails LOL.

[sheshe2]

37. So...

You did not read my post. No, they are not the same drugs as Canada uses. Canada has strict regulations on their own drugs and can not possibly regulate what goes out of country...they would go bankrupt trying. You want to get your drugs unregulated from a third world country?

Learn more about dangers of drug importation, its link to counterfeit drugs and the issues threatening the safety of our prescription drugs, visit www.safemedicines.org.

I am sorry for your family issues. It is not easy.

[George II]

44. 1. Booker takes ZERO from the Pharms (that's illegal), 2. It's NOT the "same drugs..

...that Canadians use every day". The formula is the same but the QUALITY CONTROL is entirely different.

The bill was far from perfect, and had nothing to do with campaign money. Thanks for insulting Senator Booker.

[sheshe2]

46. +++++++++++++++ 1000

[Amimnoch]

47. Thank you. Makes one wonder why

Someone would take a thread thanking our Democratic leadership to turn it into a hatchet job on the very person who introduced the bill we are appreciating.

[Jim Lane]

59. It's sort of illegal and sort of not.

A federal campaign may not accept corporate contributions in the sense of money that comes out of the corporation's treasury.

A corporation may, however, set up a PAC and invite its employees to make voluntary contributions to it. The PAC may then contribute that money to candidates, including federal candidates, of its officers' choosing. The officers of the PAC are generally officers of the corporation. No treasury funds flow directly to any candidates. I think (not sure) that the corporation is allowed to put up the money to operate the PAC, such as soliciting the employees for contributions.

Of course, the corporate PAC raises some of the same issues as direct corporate contributions would.

[R B Garr]

67. Foreign money is definitely illegal and raises

many questions, too. So many questions.

[Me.]

55. And A BOOM For You

[sheshe2]

57. Thank you, Me.

[ehrnst]

65. Yep. Slandering Democrats as "being in the pocket of big pharma"

clearly benefits someone else, or another entity.

[lapucelle]

26. Booker did not vote with Big Pharma.

Booker voted for a different amendment that accomplished the same goal and provided safeguards for American consumers.

Booker: "I support the importation of prescription drugs as a key part of a strategy to help control the skyrocketing cost of medications. Any plan to allow the importation of prescription medications should also include consumer protections that ensure foreign drugs meet American safety standards. I opposed an amendment put forward last night that didn’t meet this test."

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jan/18/other-98/viral-image-about-democratic-senators-and-big-phar/

[George II]

41. That bill would have lowered prescription medication prices but also would have.........

....lowered prescription medication safety and quality.

[George II]

40. Off topic, but whatever.....

[Amimnoch]

48. Really. Turning a thread thanking our Democratic Party leadership

And one of our greatest independent allies and turning it into a hatchet job on the Democratic Party leadership. Sad day when you can’t appreciate the efforts of the party leadership and allies without someone turning it into an attack on our own at “Democratic Underground”.

Especially with clarified and debunked misinformation.

[sheshe2]

58. +++++++++++++++++++++++

[LSFL]

8. things like drug enforcement and legalizing drugs

Are best decided locally. This idea of punishing states for not adhering to a paticular agenda on such minor matters smacks of trumpian levels of over reach. Reform sentencing guidelines. Dont punish populations.

[George II]

12. Co-sponsor?

[sheshe2]

18. I know, right?

How do you co-sponsor a proposed bill presented last year bill? It is Cory's bill.
Unless I am mistaken this is very misleading...he in fact is signing on to Cory's proposal now in 2018 that was presented in 2017.

[NurseJackie]

33. I wonder why.

Actually, no I don't. I know what game is being played here. We are much smarter that we're given credit for.

[sheshe2]

38. Yes we are, Jackie.

[mcar]

19. Co-sponsoring Sen Booker's bill from last year?

I'm confused. Why is this news?

[stevenleser]

22. I am with you on this one. nt

[mcar]

23. Thanks

I sincerely don't understand.

[lapucelle]

31. Democratic senators Wyden and Gillibrand signed on as co-sponsors months ago.

It's nice that BS is talking about getting on board as well.

[NurseJackie]

34. Exactly. Thank you.

We're smarter that we're being given credit for.

[lapucelle]

35. ,,,

[mcar]

36. Agreed

[ehrnst]

63. Indeed. (nt)

[sheshe2]

39. I am confused as well. nt

[mcar]

49. Thanks she

Sometimes I wonder if it's just me or I'm just confused. An odd feeling for a fully sentient, highly educated and experienced woman.

[Me.]

56. And Why....

is it being publicised as big news now instead of last year when it was introduced?

[Sunlei]

78. I know why. Because Forbes just interviewed BS and published the News story.

On Forbes news website.

[Me.]

79. What's Interesting About That Article

is somehow they think Sanders might be the DEm Pres Nom in '20.

"Many political observers expect that Booker and Sanders will compete for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020"

To which I say......

[Sunlei]

80. you know how people & press are always asking questions. It's midterms people need to worry about

Ds can't afford to lose ANY seats and must gain a couple in midterms or we'll never recover in our lifetimes from 2 more years of Republicans agenda.

[R B Garr]

81. Wow. Some of us realized this a long long time

ago. Our entire focus should have always been thus, not one man’s campaign. We can’t afford that divisiveness anymore.

[Sunlei]

83. yes, that's why I always support all Ds & allies like Sanders 100%

[R B Garr]

86. Except badmouthing Democrats is not supportive

and mostly plays into the GOP’s hands. They love Democrats being criticized from any direction. No more self/defeating negativity. 100% support—you have that right.

[Me.]

87. I Quite Agree

But I do wish the media would stop with BS/'20 nonsense.

[ehrnst]

66. Yes, that is confusing. (nt)

[George II]

42. The bill was introduced in August 2017, Sen. Wyden co-sponsored it in December 2017....

....and Sen. Gillibrand co-sponsored it in Febuary 2018.

No big news about them, but..............

[Omaha Steve]

45. OOPS!!!!!!!

From LBN

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141987802

Kirsten Gillibrand Signs Onto Cory Bookers Marijuana Legalization Bill
Source: Observer

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, will become the second co-sponsor of the Marijuana Justice Act, legislation introduced by Sen. Cory Booker to end the federal prohibition on marijuana.

The Marijuna Justice Act would make marijuana legal at the federal level and includes incentives for states to revise their outdated marijuana laws and expunge convictions pertaining to use or possession. The legislation would also establish a fund that will reinvest in communities that have been adversely affected by marijuana policies by investing in job training programs, educational opportunities, public libraries and community centers.

Booker, a New Jersey Democrat who is rumored to be weighing a 2020 presidential bid, and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) introduced the legislation.

Gillibrand, a junior senator and also a rumored 2020 presidential contender, referred to a recent POLITICO report that black and Latino New Yorkers are nearly 10 times more likely to face marijuana arrests than white New Yorkers.

Read more: http://observer.com/2018/02/kirsten-gillibrand-cory-booker-marijuana-reform/?utm_content=nj+politics&utm_campaign=social+flow&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social+

[George II]

50. The FIRST Senator to co-sponsor the bill, five months ago:

?v=1507137069

The SECOND Senator to co-sponsor the bill, two months ago:

?quality=90&strip=all&w=618&h=410&crop=1

[Cha]

51. Is that Senator Wyden and who

is the second one, George?

[George II]

52. Kirsten Gillibrand.

[Cha]

53. Oh wow.. I haven't seen

her in a long time.. I was going to guess somebody else but then I realized she must be out by now.

Thanks George.

[ehrnst]

62. Go figure. (nt)

[Devil Child]

70. Thank you Sen. Sanders for supporting this bill

[Sunlei]

72. He works so hard for best interests of the American people.

[Faux pas]

84. You da man Bernie!