Bills Take Aim At Federal Marijuana Ban.

greenbuddha · March 15, 2013

Bills Take Aim at Federal Marijuana Ban Posted by CN Staff on March 14, 2013 at 16:39:10 PT

By Raju Chebium, Gannett Washington Bureau

Washington, D.C. -- A few House members have begun a broad effort to overturn a 43-year-old federal ban on marijuana and say they're prepared to keep up the pressure even if it takes years. About 10 lawmakers, mostly liberal Democrats, are writing bills that will serve as legislative guideposts for the future if the GOP-controlled House, as expected, ignores their proposals during this Congress.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said it's time to end the federal ban because 18 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana and many other states are exploring that option in response to growing public pressure.

"Maybe next year, maybe next Congress, but this is going to change. And the federal government will get out of the way," he said. "I'm very patient. I've been working on this one way or another for 40 years, and I think the likelihood of something happening in the next four or five years is greater than ever."

Peter Bensinger, a former head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, urged lawmakers to keep the ban despite the pressure to legalize pot.

Advocacy groups, which have spent a lot of money over the years to push legalization, gloss over the negative effects of marijuana though studies show people do get hooked and smoking pot impairs judgment and could cause cancer like cigarettes, he said.

"Legalizing it is going to cost lives, money, addiction, dependency," Bensinger warned in an interview Wednesday.

A number of lawmakers share that view, which is why previous congressional attempts to decriminalize marijuana went nowhere.

Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., acknowledged that getting any marijuana bill through a bitterly divided Congress — which is consumed by debates over spending, gun regulations and other matters — won't be easy.

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Complete Article: http://drugsense.org/url/FTsPt1bs

Source: USA Today (US)

Author: Raju Chebium, Gannett Washington Bureau

Published: March 14, 2013

Contact: editor@usatoday.com

Website: http://www.usatoday.com/

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