The ripple leading toward the legalization of marijuana is gaining momentum. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has introduced legislation to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.
The bill, known as the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. This would allow states to decide how to handle marijuana possession, according to a statement from Schumer’s office.
“The time to decriminalize marijuana is now,” Schumer said in the statement from his office.
Although the bill would decriminalize the controversial substance, it would still preserve the federal government’s ability to prevent trafficking from states where it would be legal to states where it is not, the statement said.
Schumer’s proposed legislation would also invest $500 million over the next five years in the Department of Health and Human Services. These funds would go towards medical marijuana research and understanding the effects of THC.
If the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act would pass, states would be allowed to seal or expunge individual marijuana possession records.
Schumer declared in the statement from his office that the legislation is “simply the right thing to do.”
This bill is co-sponsored by these three senators: Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.)
Attorney General Jeff Session said earlier this month that he hasn’t talked to President Trump about the proposed legislation to decriminalize federal marijuana law’s, but he believes the president would support a bill that protected states that have decided to do so.
Do you think it is just a matter of time before this kind of legislation passes in the senate? Will Schumer’s bill be the catalyst toward decriminalizing marijuana? How do you think Trump is going to react to the proposed bill? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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