Friday, April 12, 2013

 New in Congress:
A marijuana states’ bill of rights

at: SeattlePI

A bipartisan, liberal-libertarian coalition in Congress is backing legislation that would amend the federal Controlled Substances Act so that anyone acting in compliance with a state marijuana legalization or medical marijuana law would be immune from federal criminal prosecution.
 ....
The new H.R. 1523, the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act, would immunize not only individual marijuana users, but also medical and non-medical marijuana businesses operating in states where they are legal.

“This bipartisan bill represents a common-sense approach that establishes federal government respect for all states’ marijuana laws:  It does so by keeping the federal government out of the business of criminalizing marijuana activities in states that don’t want it to be criminal,” said Rohrabacher, in a classic conservative framing of the argument.
 .....

 After 40 years of the “War on Drugs,” and billions of dollars spent, the public appears to believe this is no longer a war worth fighting.  The latest Pew Research poll found that six in ten Americans believe the federal government should butt out of enforcing federal marijuana laws in states where cannabis is legal for medical or recreational use.

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