A bipartisan trio of U.S. senators on Tuesday introduced the CARERS Act, a bill that overhauls how the federal government treats marijuana. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) outlined the bill in a press conference.
The legislation would:
Downgrade cannabis from a Schedule 1 substance to Schedule 2, which allows doctors to prescribe it.Remove low-THC, high-CBD marijuana from the schedule altogether.Remove federal penalties for production, possession and distribution of medical marijuana when state laws are followed.Facilitate marijuana research.Allow doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs to prescribe marijuana to veterans.Prevent banks from rejecting marijuana businesses.Booker said the “federal government has overstepped the boundaries of common sense” with its marijuana policies and the bill “seeks to right decades of wrong.”
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