Dramatic change to marijuana laws What bill before Congress would do

Since 1932, marijuana license has been a federally-prohibited substance, and this would undo that, says Sam Kamin, a legislation professor at the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law.

The bill, known as the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act, would delete marijuana from the federal schedule of controlled substances and take away marijuana-specific retributions as spelled out in the Managed Substances Act.

Criminally prosecuting adults for making the selection to smoke marijuana blog is a waste of regulation enforcement sources and an intrusion on private freedom, said Congressman Frank in a launched statement. I don't advocate urging folks to smoke marijuana, neither do I urge them to drink alcoholic drinks or smoke tobacco, however in none of these cases do I think prohibition enforced by legal sanctions is sweet public policy.

Though the bill has four Democratic cosponsors - John Conyers of Michigan, Barbara Lee of California, Jared Polis of Colorado, and Steve Cohen of Tennessee - the bill stands no probability of passing the Republican-controlled house, say analysts.

Lamar Smith (R) of Texas, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said his committee wouldn't think about the bill. Decriminalizing marijuana will solely lead to thousands and thousands more Americans becoming hooked on drugs and higher earnings for drug cartels who fund violence alongside the U.S.-Mexico border. Allowing states to find out their very own marijuana policy flies in the face of Supreme Court precedent.

Federal - state disconnect over marijuana

The measure would restrict the federal government's function in marijuana enforcement to cross-border or inter-state smuggling, in line with a press release from Frank's office. By leaving the question of legality as much as the states, the laws would permit people to legally grow, use or sell marijuana in states where it's legal, with out fear of federal prosecution.

Even when the measure doesn't cross, it highlights the continued incongruence between state and federal policies and enforcement strategies.

Right now, the US is in this loopy state of affairs where 12 states have legalized medical marijuana – which puts them in direct opposition to federal law, says Phil Cook, professor of public policy, economics and sociology at Duke University. This legislation would take away that awkward conflict.

That conflict has precipitated anger and confusion between pro-marijuana and anti-drug teams, as effectively as among owners of legalized state dispensaries which have been raided by federal authorities.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie lately stated he wouldn't implement his state's medical marijuana law without assurances from federal prosecutors, based on the Wall Street Journal.

Taxation and regulation

Professor Kamin calls the invoice a dramatic change and says that its passage would force an instantaneous question: Will [the federal government] regulate and tax marijuana in the same means they tax and regulate alcohol and cigarettes?

Some nationwide professional-hemp teams say that taxing and regulation are the means in which to go, to maintain profits out of the hands of gangs and drug cartels.

It's time to stop ceding control of the marijuana market to unregulated, prison entrepreneurs and permit states to enact commonsense regulations that search to govern the adult use of marijuana in a trend just like alcohol, says Paul Armentano, deputy director for the National Group for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

Some regulation enforcement groups take the same position, pointing out that final week was the 40th anniversary of President Nixon's declaration of warfare on medicine, which they notice hasn't worked.

They are saying this renewed debate is just what's needed.

No longer can reform advocates be laughed off as a bunch of Cheech and Chongs, says Tom Angell, media relations director for Legislation Enforcement In opposition to Prohibition, an international organization of felony justice professionals who claim first-hand awareness of the waste and harms of current drug policies.

Hopefully having this national debate will assist extra people to understand that marijuana prohibition harms public safety by giving drug cartels and gangs an enormous source of tax-free income, just like alcohol prohibition did for Al Capone and his colleagues during the Nineteen Twenties and 30s, says Mr. Angell.

Anti-marijuana groups remain against the increased public acceptance of marijuana, medicinal or otherwise. The legalization of medical marijuana in California hasn't been a success, says Steve Steiner, founder of Dads and Moms Against Drug Dealers.