Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California recently submitted a piece of legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives targeted at preventing the federal government from enforcing states that have legalized cannabis for recreational or medical use. The proposal, which is entitled the “Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2017,” would provide the marijuana community with immunity from federal punishment as long as they obey state law.
Although the bill (H.R. 975) would not force Congress to end prohibition in a manner that would allow marijuana to be taxed and regulated nationwide similar to alcohol, it would amend the Controlled Substances Act in such a way that state legalization could carry on without the risk of federal interference. That means as long as cannabis consumers and their respective marketplaces adhere to the laws outlined by the state, this proposal would ensure Sessions and the DEA have no power to conduct raids or any other pesky shakedown tactics. However, for those states that still consider cannabis an illegal substance, no changes will happen.
Robert Capecchi, director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement, “This is commonsense legislation that is long overdue. It is time to end marijuana prohibition at the federal level and give states the authority to determine their own policies. Federal tax dollars should not be wasted on arresting and prosecuting people who are following their state and local laws.” Similar legislation has been introduced over the past couple of years, but those bills never even received a hearing. There is hope that with all of the controversy surrounding Sessions and the potential dismantling of the legal cannabis trade that Congress will get serious about listening to the issue of national marijuana reform in the 2017 session.
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THANK GOD SOME LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES HAVE THE COMMON SENSE ALONG WITH THE BACKBONE,INTEGRITY AND RESPECT FOR WHAT THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS HAVE REPEATEDLY VOICED AND VOTED FOR CONCERNING MARIJUANA’S CURRENT ABSURD TREATMENT AND OPINION OF THE DEA AS TO WHAT IS BEST FOR AMERICANS WHEN ALL THE RESPECTED STUDIES WORLDWIDE NOT ONLY CONTRADICT, BUT ALSO MOCK THE EFFORTS BY AND NAZI TACTICS OF OUR DEA. IT IS TRULY SHAMEFUL AND A EMBARRASSMENT FOR OUR NATIONS HIGHEST POLITICIANS, NAMELY TRUMP-PENCE AND SESSIONS TO TAKE A BACKWARD AND RETARDED LIKE VIEW OF MARIJUANA’S NUMEROUS POSITIVE MEDICAL BENEFITS AND LIKELY FUTURE ADVANCES IN MEDICINE USING MARIJUANA’S PROPERTIES AND EXTRACTS. THEIR FURTHER INTENTIONAL SPREADING OF FALSE INFORMATION,PROVEN BY AND AT THE HIGHEST SCIENTIFIC LEVELS, WITHOUT CONCERN THAT THEY HAVE DIMINISHED THEIR PAST REPUTATION AS A FAIR,HONEST AND WITH THE GOAL OF ACTING IN ALL WAYS 2 BENEFIT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC,REGARDLESS OF THEIR PRIVATE OPINIONS. THANK YOU CONGRESSMAN ROHRABACHER FOR YOUR EFFORTS TOWARD ALLOWING CITIZENS AND THEIR STATE GOVERNMENTS TO GAURD,PROTECT AND ADVANCE THE ISSUES AND CONCERNS OF SUCH A NEEDED MEDICAL EFFORT,ALONG WITH THE STATES CITIZENS DESIRETO LEGALIZE A PRODUCT THOUSANDS OF TIMES SAFER THAN LEGAL ALCOHOL WHICH IS THE DIRECT CAUSE OF THE MAJORITY OF AUTO ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES, WORLDWIDE. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, AND SPEED YOUR EFFORTS TO A POSITIVE CONCLUSION. RESPECFTFULLY, JOHN M ZIMMERMAN