A new bill to decriminalize and regulate marijuana at the federal level has been introduced by Sen. Chuck Schumer.
This legislation was reported this April by New York Democrat, and it’s targeted at removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, where it is categorized with other drugs including heroin and LSD.
By removing cannabis from the act, a news was released by Schumer’s office saying that the bill successfully makes the drug legal at the federal level. The bill still permits states to decide on their own marijuana laws while keeping in place federal law enforcement which doesn’t support trafficking to states where it is not legal.
Many states permit the sales of recreational marijuana, such as California, Oregon, and Massachusetts.
The bill from Schumer will place a certain measure of tax revenue into a Treasury trust fund made for the “small business concerns” of women and “economically and socially disabled” people who work in the cannabis industry.
According to the bill, marijuana advertisements and related advertisements would be banned for people under 18years of age, if combined research carried out by the health and human services Department, National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration decide that acting in this way would be “necessary for the security” of the wellbeing of youths.
According to a press release from Schumer, he said this legislation is “normally the perfect thing to do” and that he hopes it will be “balanced approach” which will receive bipartisan support in Congress. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and other Democratic Senators including Tim Kaine of Virginia and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois co-sponsored this bill.
Earlier this month, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and Cory Gardner, R-Colorado introduced another measure targeted at weakening marijuana-related federal guidelines and making states more flexible in deciding their own laws.
In April, Gardner was informed by President Donald Trump that he shall be supported when it comes to efforts made to secure states which have decriminalized cannabis. This meeting was previously declared by The Washington Post, and it was after Gardner threatened to stop all nominees for the Justice Department after Attorney General Jeff Sessions revoked the Obama administration guidance, called the Cole memo, which embraced a policy of not interfering with friendly marijuana state laws.
When the top Democrat from the Senate declared that he will introduce a legislation that will legalize marijuana, it was the first time that leaders of either congress parties had implemented change to one the longest lasting drug laws the country.
The move was just the right thing to do according to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York.
Schumer said that it was the time to legalize marijuana, he also said that his thinking and also the view of the overall populace on marijuana legalization has changed which has made it suitable to legalize marijuana and it’s the correct thing to do.
Schumer’s first intentions were proclaimed when he was interviewed by Vice News, in his statement, he condemned the disadvantages of the present marijuana law, where the drug is classified under the same classification as heroin.
According to Schumer, a lot of individuals are convicted for possessing little measures of marijuana and that present marijuana laws have had an inordinate impact on minority communities.
The legalization of marijuana had been under the government radar for years, however, nowadays it has shown an increase in popularity with all voters and it has also shown an increase in interest by Democrats.
At the beginning of the year, the Pew Research Centre discovered that 61 percent of Americans supported the legalization of cannabis, with the majority of support lying among millennials.
In 2017, future presidential candidate Cory Booker who is a Democratic of New Jersey came up with the Marijuana Justice Act, which would decriminalize the drug all over the nation.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon later endorsed it. In 2015 Sen. Ron Wyden’s state decriminalized marijuana, alongside Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who is also seen as a future presidential candidate.
Bernie Sanders who is the Independent Senator of Vermont, supported a marijuana-legalization initiative in California during his presidential campaign in 2016, supported Booker’s bill on Thursday.
Schumer introduced a legislation on April 20 or 4/20, which was an unofficial holiday for marijuana users. This bill will not outrightly legalize marijuana, however, it will instead permit states to choose if they can increase the availability of the drug commercially.
It will stop the problems faced by marijuana sellers, months after Attorney General Jeff Sessions denied Obama-era guidance which stopped officials of the federal law enforcement from interfering with the marijuana business in legalized states.
Schumer said that the bill will allow the states determine and be the testing facilities that they need to be. He added that the bill will make sure that minority businesses owned by women have a trustworthy stream of funds which will assist them to fight against larger organizations in the cannabis industry. Crucially, the bill can ensure that advertisements won’t be targeted at youths, and real funds should be invested in the health effects of THC, which is the main psychoactive substance in marijuana.
The legislation will also help stabilize federal authority to control marijuana advertisements in a similar way to alcohol and tobacco advertisements. Schumer said the goal is to make sure that cannabis organizations will not target youths in their advertisements.
The bill from Schumer was highly applauded by marijuana advocates, who commenced by thanking Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for facilitating a bill that would decriminalize industrial hemp.
According to Tom Angell who is the chairman of Marijuana Majority, there has been an unprecedented escalation of political support for marijuana law reform. He then added that the two both parties have realized the importance of legalizing marijuana among voters and are scared of the other party stealing the issue.
The bill from Schumer is seen by Democrats as part of a constant effort to lure young voters, who are not willing to be part of the midterm elections.
Schumer has adopted a campaign to restore “net neutrality,” rules that will stop providers of internet service from tampering with the fees or download speeds for specific types of data.
Schumer then concluded by saying that this is the time for decriminalization, and he hopes we can evolve from this.
