Marijuana-Legalizing States Get A Boost

[greenbuddha]

House Bill 1523 would change federal law to protect marijuana users, both medical and recreational, from prosecution as long as those people are following state law.

 

 

 

US: Pot-legalizing States Get A Boost

 

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URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n163/a05.html
Newshawk: http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
Votes: 0
Pubdate: Mon, 15 Apr 2013
Source: Washington Times (DC)
Copyright: 2013 The Washington Times, LLC.
Contact: yourletters@washingtontimes.com
Website: http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/492
Author: Valerie Richardson
Page: A6

POT-LEGALIZING STATES GET A BOOST

U.S. House Bill Would End Conflicts With Federal Laws

A U.S. House lawmaker has introduced a bill to end the conflict between the federal government and the states over legalized pot, five months after Colorado and Washington voters approved the first statewide ballot measures decriminalizing marijuana use for adults.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican, said the "Respect State Marijuana Laws Act" would end the limbo that finds Colorado and Washington lawmakers moving forward with pot regulations even as the Obama administration Justice Department weighs continuing to enforce federal laws against marijuana in those states.

"This bipartisan bill represents a common-sense approach that establishes federal government respect for all states' marijuana laws," Mr. Rohrabacher said in a statement Friday. "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."

But Kevin Sabet, a former adviser in the White House Office of National Drug Policy during both the Obama and George W. Bush administrations, said the bill, like previous marijuana legalization bills, is "bound to fail."

"And it probably should. Since users who consume small amounts of marijuana are rarely, if ever, noticed by federal authorities, this provision would have little real-world effect," Mr. Sabet, president of Policy Solutions Group, said in an email. "It would, however, represent something of a symbolic victory toward repealing all of our marijuana laws."

The federal Controlled Substances Act bans the production, sale and use of marijuana, but in 2009, the Justice Department issued a memo saying it would give leeway to states where voters have approved marijuana for medicinal uses.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has yet to say whether he will let Colorado and Washington proceed with legalizing recreational marijuana. In March, he told a Senate committee that the Justice Department would issue a guidance "relatively soon."

The House bill, introduced with both Democratic and Republican cosponsors, would amend the federal act to protect from prosecution marijuana smokers, as well as medical and nonmedical marijuana businesses, in states that have legalized pot.

"Marijuana prohibition is on its last legs because most Americans no longer support it," said Steve Fox, national political director of the Marijuana Policy Project. "This legislation presents a perfect opportunity for members to embrace the notion that states should be able to devise systems for regulating marijuana without their citizens having to worry about breaking federal law."

In a March letter, nine former Drug Enforcement Administration chiefs and four former drug czars urged the Justice Department to remain firm on enforcing federal drug laws in Colorado and Washington.

Voters in Colorado and Washington approved ballot measures in November permitting recreational use of marijuana for those 21 and older, and directing state legislatures to devise regulatory frameworks similar to those governing liquor sales and distribution.

MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom
 

[Dlo]

How likely is this to pass? Anyone

[peanutbutter]

How likely is this to pass? Anyone

 

more likely now than ever before.

[legacy]

How likely is this to pass? Anyone

 

 

more likely now than ever before.

 

On 5/9/12, HR5326 (Rohrabacher amendment) failed 262-163. I think a lot of people would have guessed it failed like 400-25. So there is more support than some people are aware of. Since then, the public sentiment has likely improved. Just need 50 reps to change their vote.

 

The following Democrats representing Michigan voters voted against hr5326. Please urge them to respect their constituents, put away their personal beliefs, and vote for hb1523:

John Dingell

Dale Kildee

Sander Levin

Gary McDowell

[peanutbutter]

More and more of them are saying "just legalize it and be done with it."

 

Everyone knows that it's going to happen. A few just want to fight it to slow it down.