Two congressmen filed separate House bills on Friday that together would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana at the federal level, effectively ending the U.S. government's decadeslong prohibition of the plant.
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) introduced the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, which would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act's schedules, transfer oversight of the substance from the Drug Enforcement Administration over to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and regulate marijuana in a way similar to how alcohol is currently regulated in the U.S.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced the Marijuana Tax Revenue Act, which would set up a federal excise tax for regulated marijuana.
The bills would not force states to legalize marijuana, but a federal regulatory framework would be in place for those states that do decide to legalize it. To date, four states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana (however, D.C.'s model continues to ban sales), 23 states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes and 11 other states have legalized the limited use of low-THC forms of marijuana for medical use.
"While President Obama and the Justice Department have allowed the will of voters in states like Colorado and 22 other jurisdictions to move forward, small business owners, medical marijuana patients, and others who follow state laws still live with the fear that a new administration -- or this one -- could reverse course and turn them into criminals," Polis said in a statement Friday. "It is time for us to replace the failed prohibition with a regulatory system that works and let states and municipalities decide for themselves if they want, or don't want, to have legal marijuana within their borders."
Despite the programs currently in place in Colorado and Washington state -- as well as those that will soon go into effect in Oregon, Alaska and D.C. -- the sale, possession, production and distribution of marijuana all remain illegal under federal law. The states that have legalized marijuana or softened penalties for possession have only been able to do so because of federal guidance urging prosecutors to refrain from targeting state-legal marijuana operations.
With marijuana legalization supported by a majority of Americans, and a new wave of states considering loosening their marijuana laws over the next several years, it seems unlikely that the federal government would push back against the popular movement. But it's not completely out of the realm of possibility.
Harvard economist Jeff Miron, a vocal supporter of marijuana policy reform, highlighted the precarious nature of state marijuana laws in a recent op-ed for CNN on why Congress needs to act now on federal marijuana policy.
"Despite the compelling case for legalization, and progress toward legalization at the state level, ultimate success is not assured," Miron wrote. "Federal law still prohibits marijuana, and existing jurisprudence (Gonzales v. Raich 2005) holds that federal law trumps state law when it comes to marijuana prohibition. So far, the federal government has mostly taken a hands-off approach to state medicalizations and legalizations, but in January 2017, the country will have a new president. That person could order the attorney general to enforce federal prohibition regardless of state law."
On Friday, Blumenauer called the federal prohibition of marijuana "a failure" that has wasted tax dollars and ruined lives. He also said it's time for the government to forge a new path ahead for the plant.
"As more states move to legalize marijuana as Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Alaska have done," Blumenauer said, "it's imperative the federal government become a full partner in building a workable and safe framework."
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Showing posts with label huffington post. Show all posts
Showing posts with label huffington post. Show all posts
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Say no to pot prohibitionist Ron Nehring
Anti-Pot Rhetoric Out of Step With California Voters
Steven Greenhut | March 21, 2014
SACRAMENTO — As the state Republican Party searched for new ways to reach California’s young and independent-oriented electorate during its weekend convention outside of San Francisco, its main lieutenant governor candidate has chosen to run on an increasingly unpopular issue: opposing the decriminalization of marijuana.
At a press conference on Saturday, former party chairman Ron Nehring of San Diego argued that the advancing movement to decriminalize pot is endangering children: “Anyone who thinks that this is only going to be limited to adults needs to put the crack pipe down because that is simply not reality.”
Nehring seeks support from voters who don’t like Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s support for marijuana decriminalization. Oddly for a GOP convention, Nehring praised Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who recently suggested that a stoned populace is bad for the state’s economy as he criticized legalization efforts similar to those in Washington and Colorado.
Nehring said he favors the approach taken by a group called Project SAM. Its “Smart Approaches to Marijuana” are short on specifics, but are mainly about keeping marijuana illegal. In a Huffington Post article last April, Nehring even criticized the use of medical marijuana, which has been legal in California since Prop. 215’s passage in 1996.
He’s got an uphill battle, not just with his candidacy but in gaining traction for this issue. A December Field poll found that most California voters, by a 56 percent to 39 percent margin, favor a proposed marijuana-legalization initiative, with opposition coming mainly from Republicans and self-identified conservatives. Voter preferences can change as campaigns heat up, of course, but attitudes are shifting in the legalization direction over time.
Supporters of legalization say it’s better to regulate it than to fight a drug war. Despite what the governor said at a district attorneys’ event in 2010, marijuana legalization will not help the Mexican cartels. The last thing drug lords want is legal competition.
In his Huffington Post piece, Newsom argued that “Californians must renew our push for common-sense marijuana policy by developing a state level regulatory system and lead the national effort to end draconian laws that favor incarceration over education.” But the latest effort to develop such a system is sponsored by the police chiefs’ association and the California League of Cities – two groups that are trying to clamp down on dispensaries. Authored by Sen. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), SB 1262 would give state authorities the power to license those facilities that sell medical pot, but it would also make it harder for patients to get doctor recommendations to buy it.
This seems counterproductive given fiscal realities. The state’s prison system is so overcrowded that officials are releasing inmates who have committed serious crimes. Cities are cutting their public-safety budgets as pension costs consume more dollars. One would think that police chiefs and city-government advocates would have other priorities.
Pot foes complain that it’s too easy for anyone to get a marijuana “card” for medical uses and that such drugs are harmful to kids for recreational uses. Legalization supporters say the question is not whether marijuana is good or bad, but whether maintaining a prohibition is a wise use of resources. Legalizing a substance does not necessarily mean that it will be more widely used, as Portugal’s drug-decriminalization efforts suggest.
Both sides of the debate insist that they want to downplay incarceration and focus on drug treatment, which might be a good place for a little common ground. But sensible solutions will no doubt get lost in a statewide political campaign where voters can expect sound-bites and hit mailers about crack pipes and potheads.
In 1983, conservative icon William F. Buckley argued that “The anti-marijuana campaign is a cancerous tissue of lies, undermining law enforcement, aggravating the drug problem, depriving the sick of needed help, and suckering well-intentioned conservatives and countless frightened parents.” On the political level, not much has changed after three decades. But voters seem to be moving beyond the scare tactics.
Source
Prohibitionism is a bad position as I have pointed out before. With medical marijuana or legal dispensaries money goes out of the pockets of organized crime which deprives them of a source of revenue. I don't usually endorse Democrats but on this one I have to. The Republican challenger is bringing up the bad old days of police raids and organized crime getting rich again. The War on Marijuana is a failure. The people have spoken and our elected leaders are duty bound to obey the will of the people.
Steven Greenhut | March 21, 2014
SACRAMENTO — As the state Republican Party searched for new ways to reach California’s young and independent-oriented electorate during its weekend convention outside of San Francisco, its main lieutenant governor candidate has chosen to run on an increasingly unpopular issue: opposing the decriminalization of marijuana.
At a press conference on Saturday, former party chairman Ron Nehring of San Diego argued that the advancing movement to decriminalize pot is endangering children: “Anyone who thinks that this is only going to be limited to adults needs to put the crack pipe down because that is simply not reality.”
Nehring seeks support from voters who don’t like Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s support for marijuana decriminalization. Oddly for a GOP convention, Nehring praised Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who recently suggested that a stoned populace is bad for the state’s economy as he criticized legalization efforts similar to those in Washington and Colorado.
Nehring said he favors the approach taken by a group called Project SAM. Its “Smart Approaches to Marijuana” are short on specifics, but are mainly about keeping marijuana illegal. In a Huffington Post article last April, Nehring even criticized the use of medical marijuana, which has been legal in California since Prop. 215’s passage in 1996.
He’s got an uphill battle, not just with his candidacy but in gaining traction for this issue. A December Field poll found that most California voters, by a 56 percent to 39 percent margin, favor a proposed marijuana-legalization initiative, with opposition coming mainly from Republicans and self-identified conservatives. Voter preferences can change as campaigns heat up, of course, but attitudes are shifting in the legalization direction over time.
Supporters of legalization say it’s better to regulate it than to fight a drug war. Despite what the governor said at a district attorneys’ event in 2010, marijuana legalization will not help the Mexican cartels. The last thing drug lords want is legal competition.
In his Huffington Post piece, Newsom argued that “Californians must renew our push for common-sense marijuana policy by developing a state level regulatory system and lead the national effort to end draconian laws that favor incarceration over education.” But the latest effort to develop such a system is sponsored by the police chiefs’ association and the California League of Cities – two groups that are trying to clamp down on dispensaries. Authored by Sen. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), SB 1262 would give state authorities the power to license those facilities that sell medical pot, but it would also make it harder for patients to get doctor recommendations to buy it.
This seems counterproductive given fiscal realities. The state’s prison system is so overcrowded that officials are releasing inmates who have committed serious crimes. Cities are cutting their public-safety budgets as pension costs consume more dollars. One would think that police chiefs and city-government advocates would have other priorities.
Pot foes complain that it’s too easy for anyone to get a marijuana “card” for medical uses and that such drugs are harmful to kids for recreational uses. Legalization supporters say the question is not whether marijuana is good or bad, but whether maintaining a prohibition is a wise use of resources. Legalizing a substance does not necessarily mean that it will be more widely used, as Portugal’s drug-decriminalization efforts suggest.
Both sides of the debate insist that they want to downplay incarceration and focus on drug treatment, which might be a good place for a little common ground. But sensible solutions will no doubt get lost in a statewide political campaign where voters can expect sound-bites and hit mailers about crack pipes and potheads.
In 1983, conservative icon William F. Buckley argued that “The anti-marijuana campaign is a cancerous tissue of lies, undermining law enforcement, aggravating the drug problem, depriving the sick of needed help, and suckering well-intentioned conservatives and countless frightened parents.” On the political level, not much has changed after three decades. But voters seem to be moving beyond the scare tactics.
Source
Prohibitionism is a bad position as I have pointed out before. With medical marijuana or legal dispensaries money goes out of the pockets of organized crime which deprives them of a source of revenue. I don't usually endorse Democrats but on this one I have to. The Republican challenger is bringing up the bad old days of police raids and organized crime getting rich again. The War on Marijuana is a failure. The people have spoken and our elected leaders are duty bound to obey the will of the people.
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