U.S. Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Corey Booker (D-NJ), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) will introduce Tuesday a bill in the U.S. Senate that would put an end to the federal government’s prohibition of (in other words, to legalize) medical marijuana. The Senators will hold a press conference in the Senate at 12:30 p.m. EST Tuesday to announce this landmark legislation.
“Almost half the states have legalized marijuana for medical use; it’s long past time to end the federal ban,” said Michael Collins, policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance, in a statement about the bill. “This bipartisan legislation allows states to set their own medical marijuana policies and ends the criminalization of patients, their families, and the caregivers and dispensary owners and employees who provide them their medicine.”
Dan Riffle, director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, commented in a statement from the organization, “This is a significant step forward when it comes to reforming marijuana laws at the federal level. The vast majority of Americans support laws that allow seriously ill people to access medical marijuana. Several marijuana policy reform bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives. The introduction of this legislation in the Senate demonstrates just how seriously this issue is being taken on Capitol Hill."
Riffle also commented on the bipartisan nature of the bill, saying "it reflects the broad public support for resolving the tension between state and federal marijuana laws. This is a proposal that Republicans and Democrats should both be able to get behind. It’s a matter of compassion and justice, states’ rights, public safety, and medical choice. There is no rational reason to maintain laws that prevent doctors from recommending medical marijuana, prohibit seriously ill people from using it, and punishing those who provide it to them.”
