The bipartisan sponsors of a marijuana legalization bill currently before Congress renewed their efforts in the name of criminal justice reform Wednesday as the Trump administration pushes to further punish drug offenders.
Reps. Thomas Garrett, Virginia Republican, and Tulsi Gabbard, Hawaii Democrat, touted their Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act during a Capitol Hill press conference as a means of ending the government’s trend of prosecuting pot users as a growing number of states legalize cannabis.
The bill, if approved, would remove marijuana from the federal government’s list of controlled substances and effectively put cannabis in the same category as alcohol and tobacco, ending a lost-standing prohibition the legislation’s sponsors blame with ravaging the lives of convicted marijuana users.
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Mr. Garrett, a former prosecutor, told attendees that his previous gig pursuing criminals as Virginia’s assistant attorney general gave him unique insight with respect to the way drug laws are being applied.
