Members Of Congress Introduce First Federal Measure Since 1937 To Legalize The Adult Use Of Marijuana

House lawmakers introduced legislation in Congress today to end the federal criminalization of the personal use of marijuana.

The bipartisan measure, HR 2306 – entitled the ‘Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011’ and sponsored by Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank and Texas Republican Ron Paul along with Reps. Cohen (D-TN), Conyers (D-MI), Polis (D-CO), and Lee (D-CA) – prohibits the federal government from prosecuting adults who use or possess marijuana by removing the plant and its primary psychoactive constituent, THC, from the five schedules of the United States Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Under present law, all varieties of the marijuana plant are defined as illicit Schedule I controlled substances, defined as possessing ‘a high potential for abuse,’ and ‘no currently accepted medical use in treatment.’

Said Rep. Frank, “Criminally prosecuting adults for making the choice to smoke marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources and an intrusion on personal freedom. I do not advocate urging people to smoke marijuana, neither do I urge them to drink alcoholic beverages or smoke tobacco, but in none of these cases do I think prohibition enforced by criminal sanctions is good public policy.”

The ‘Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act’ seeks to federally deregulate the personal possession and use of marijuana by adults. It marks the first time that members of Congress have introduced legislation to eliminate the federal criminalization of marijuana since the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.

Language in this Act mimics changes enacted by Congress to repeal the federal prohibition of alcohol. Passage of this measure would remove the existing conflict between federal law and the laws of those sixteen states that allow for the limited use of marijuana under a physicians’ supervision. It would also allow state governments that wish to fully legalize and regulate the responsible use, possession, production, and intrastate distribution of marijuana for all adults to be free to do so without federal interference. (To date, lawmakers in six states have introduced legislation to legalize and regulate the adult use of cannabis, and separate statewide initiative measures are planned for 2012 in several additional states.)

Speaking in support of the measure, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said, “The federal criminalization of marijuana has failed to reduce the public’s demand or access to cannabis, and it has imposed enormous fiscal and human costs upon the American people. It is time to end this failed public policy and to provide state governments with the freedom to enact alternative strategies — such as medicalization, decriminalization, and/or legalization — without running afoul of the federal law or the whims of the Department of Justice.”

You can read the full text of Allen’s remarks from today’s press conference, which is being reported today by major news outlets nationwide, here.

NORML, along with representatives from the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), and the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), worked closely with members of Congress in drafting the measure.

Additional information regarding this measure is available from NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here.

AFTERNOON UPDATE:

Below is video of co-sponsor Steven Cohen (D-TN) speaking on the House floor today in favor of HR 2306: Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011.

Poll: Eighty Five Percent Of Grandparents Favor Marijuana Legalization

85% of Grandparent Respondents Favor Marijuana Legalization, According to GRAND Magazine Reader Poll

Online Magazine for Grandparents Releases Response Results to Op-Ed Question Posed in its March/April Issue

St. Petersburg, FL. (PRWEB) May 26, 2011

Attitudes about the criminalization of marijuana may be changing among the elders of our society, as the more than 70 million of the baby boomer generation, one to widely experiment with recreational drug use, have and will become grandparents.

GRAND Magazine, the online magazine for today’s grandparents, released today results from their poll question which appeared in the March/April issue. It asked readers if it was time to legalize marijuana. 85% responded that they agreed it was.

The reader respondents who are pot proponents argued in their responses that it is hypocritical to outlaw pot when cigarettes, alcohol and fat-laden foods are legal but account for so many health issues among our population. They point out that marijuana is used to treat medical symptoms such as pain and nausea, and that in some states it is legal for shops to dispense medical marijuana. The billions that are spent in the U.S. on policing and courts related to this issue could be spent on better schools or infrastructure.

Grandparents who are part of the baby boomer generation (those born from 1946 to 1964)(1) have a unique perspective on marijuana, having come of age during a time when pot use became mainstream. 21st century grandparents are a group with a significant influence on the country’s youth as they are the primary caregivers for more than 6 million children(2). In fact, approximately 75 percent of all non-parental care of children is provided by a grandparent(3), representing a large shift in family dynamics. Now it seems that as they guide and influence new generations, they view marijuana use increasingly as a harmless indulgence rather than a gateway to a lifetime of drug abuse. (more…)

Reformer’s Calendar: Drug Policy Alliance Biennial Conference in Los Angeles

Now that the 40^th annual NORML conference has concluded and is committed to the history books, the next big organized drug policy conference on the reformer’s calendar is the biennial Drug Policy Alliance’s 2011 International Drug Policy Reform Conference.

This year’s DPA conference will be held Wednesday, November 2 through Saturday, November 5 in Los Angeles @ The Westin Bonaventure. Over 1,000 reform-minded activists, non-governmental organizations, scholars, government officials, and religious and business leaders are expected to gather to explore and discuss effective and moral alternatives to warring against some drugs—notably marijuana.

This year’s attendees will have the opportunity to spend three days interacting with people committed to finding alternatives to the war on some drugs while participating in sessions given by leading experts from around the world. Don’t miss the opportunity to be a part of this event.

For more information on the DPA conference, scholarships and to enjoy earlybird savings for pre-registering, check out www.reformconference.org

Ask NORML: Is Prohibition Protecting Our Children?

NORML’s youtube channel, NORMLtv, recently launched a new video series entitled ‘Ask NORML,’ which features NORML staff answering questions submitted by you — the marijuana law reform activist.

On this week’s installment, Executive Director Allen St. Pierre addresses the long standing myth that marijuana prohibition keeps America’s children safe.

Subscribe to NORMLtv and visit NORML’s Facebook page for announcements regarding future ‘Ask NORML’ episodes and how you can have your questions answered by NORML.

Get active; get NORML!

This Friday on NORMLtv – NORML@40: A Playboy and the Marijuana Commission (Part II)

CNBC Documentary Revisits Marijuana Prohibition: ‘Marijuana USA’

With the unmistakable promotional jingle from the 1960s hit TV show ‘Green Acres‘ and on the heels of its most lucrative documentary ‘Marijuana, Inc.’, CNBC revisits the largely untaxed and unregulated multi-billion dollar industry created by the federal government’s failed 74-year-old Cannabis Prohibition on Wednesday, December 8 at 9 PM (eastern/pacific).

In the wake of a Time Magazine cover piece ‘Amerijuana’ two weeks ago, CNBC, the nation’s number one business channel on television, is taking a second bite at Cannabis Prohibition with ‘Marijuana USA’.

As with ‘Marijuana, Inc.’ (which happens to be the most watched CNBC documentary in the channel’s history), NORML’s staff and legal committee has again provided substantial research information to CNBC. NORML’s deputy director Paul Armentano and I were asked to contribute an essay in favor of cannabis legalization in opposition to someone who actually supports Cannabis Prohibition.

CNBC’s ‘Marijuana and Money’ web page is loaded with interesting commentaries and videos (see below).

Watch the premiere on Wednesday, record it on your DVDR, or, like Marijuana Inc., get ready to see the documentary re-broadcast frequently in the next six months as CNBC rings the profit register again covering a failed government policy historically known as: Cannabis Prohibition.

The Cannabis Commentary