Earlier this month, Senators Corey Booker (D-NJ), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced legislation in the Senate (S.683, titled the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States - CARERS Act) to legalize marijuana for medical use (at the federal level). It is the most comprehensive medical marijuana bill ever introduced in Congress, and since its introduction, two additional sponsors have signed on: Senators Dean Heller (R-NV) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA). Now, a companion bill (H.R. 1538, the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States - CARERS Act) has been introduced in the House by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).
The bipartisan legislation would not legalize medical marijuana in any state, but it would allow states to set their own medical marijuana policies. It would recognize a legitimate use for marijuana at the federal level, and allow Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors to recommend safe and effective marijuana-related treatments. It also would allow access to banking services for marijuana-related businesses that are operating pursuant to state law, as well as enable research into the medicinal properties of marijuana.
The bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, and Veterans' Affairs.
"The topic of medical and recreational marijuana has always been an issue of states’ rights for me, a position based upon a strong belief in the 10th Amendment and the principals of federalism established by our Founders," said Congressman Don Young in a press release announcing the bill. "The CARERS Act aims to protect states that have legalized medical marijuana and allows them to properly enforce their own laws. My position aims to reaffirm the states’ rights to determine the nature of criminal activity within their own jurisdictions, which I believe is critical for states to effectively legislate within their borders."
Congressman Steve Cohen commented, "The science has been in for a long time, and keeping marijuana on Schedule I–with heroin and LSD–is ludicrous. I am pleased to join with Congressman Don Young in introducing this important bill to bring the federal government in line with the science and the American people, respect states’ rights, remove the threat of federal prosecution in states with medical marijuana, and help our citizens access the treatments they need."
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have already legalized medical marijuana. Roughly a dozen additional states recognize a medical use for cannabidiol (CBD), a therapeutic compound derived from marijuana.
