from NORML:
House lawmakers introduced legislation in Congress today to end the federal criminalization of the personal use of marijuana.
The bipartisan measure – entitled the‘Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011’ and sponsored by Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank and Texas Republican Ron Paul along with Reps. Cohen (D-TN), Conyers (D-MI), Polis (D-CO), and Lee (D-CA) – prohibits the federal government from prosecuting adults who use or possess marijuana by removing the plant and its primary psychoactive constituent, THC, from the five schedules of the United States Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Under present law, all varieties of the marijuana plant are defined as illicit Schedule I controlled substances, defined as possessing ‘a high potential for abuse,’ and ‘no currently accepted medical use in treatment.’
The ‘Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act’ seeks to federally deregulate the personal possession and use of marijuana by adults. It marks the first time that members of Congress have introduced legislation to eliminate the federal criminalization of marijuana since the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.
Language in this Act mimics changes enacted by Congress to repeal the federal prohibition of alcohol. Passage of this measure would remove the existing conflict between federal law and the laws of those sixteen statesthat allow for the limited use of marijuana under a physicians’ supervision. It would also allow state governments that wish to fully legalize and regulate the responsible use, possession, production, and intrastate distribution of marijuana for all adults to be free to do so without federal interference. (To date, lawmakers in six states have introduced legislation to legalize and regulate the adult use of cannabis, and separate statewide initiative measures are planned for 2012 in several additional states.)
Speaking in support of the measure, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said, “The federal criminalization of marijuana has failed to reduce the public’s demand or access to cannabis, and it has imposed enormous fiscal and human costs upon the American people. It is time to end this failed public policy and to provide state governments with the freedom to enact alternative strategies — such as medicalization, decriminalization, and/or legalization — without running afoul of the federal law or the whims of the Department of Justice.”
NORML, along with representatives from the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA),Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), and the Marijuana Policy Project(MPP), worked closely with members of Congress in drafting the measure.
Additional information regarding this measure is available from NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here.
MADISON: Medical cannabis supporters will gather next Tuesday at the King St. corner of the State Capitol to remember victims of medical marijuana prohibition. This year will mark the third year for the vigil, which runs from 4-6pm. The vigil will feature tributes to patients who fell victim to medical cannabis prohibition as well as Madison guitarist Mark Shanahan. Shanahan will begin the event by performing the Wisconsin medical cannabis anthem, “Legal Medicine Blues” at 4pm.
The vigil is again being organized by the medical cannabis advocacy group Is My Medicine Legal YET?, along with the Madison and Wisconsin chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and JRMMA.org.
The list of names of those who passed away without legal access to medical cannabis read at the vigil grows each year. Last year the passing of Madison medical cannabis patient activist Mary Powers still hung heavy on friends at the event. This year, attendees will be remembering longtime Madison activist Ben Masel, who died April 30 after being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. At the conclusion of the vigil at 6pm, attendees will parade around the Capitol in support of medical cannabis in Wisconsin.
in a letter from Paul Ryan to one of his constituents:
Thank you for contacting me to express your support for H.R. 1983, H.R. 1984, and H.R. 1985, regarding the legalization of marijuana. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know your views on this important issue.
As you may know, on May 25, 2011, Representative Barney Frank introduced H.R. 1983 which would allow for the rescheduling of marijuana and would allow medical marijuana to be used in accordance with the laws of the various states. This bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on May 25, 2011, where it is currently pending.
Representative Jared Polis introduced H.R. 1984 on May 25, 2011. This bill would allow states to certify a business as legitimate for purposes of a financial institution’s suspicious activity reporting requirements. It also would facilitate unambiguous compliance of such businesses with state law and provide regulatory relief for financial institutions. H.R. 1984 was referred to the House Financial Services Committee on May 25, 2011. It is currently pending in this committee.
H.R. 1985 was introduced by Representative Fortney Pete Stark on May 25, 2011. This bill would allow a deduction for expenses in connection with the trade or business of selling medical marijuana pursuant to state law. It was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means on May 25, 2011, where it is currently pending.
Please be assured that I will continue to follow these pieces of legislation carefully. Should these bills be brought up for a vote on the House floor, I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind.
While many have expressed their belief that legalizing marijuana could solve some of the problems facing America today, I do not believe that our nation would be best served by eliminating the penalties for marijuana usage. Marijuana leads to many of the problems that affect our nation—from uncertain futures due to low school achievements by students with drug habits to drug trade money funding terrorist activities.
Furthermore, marijuana impairs an individual’s ability to function. With more than a million drunk-driving cases a year and nearly 10 percent of the adult population heavily involved with alcohol, the availability of more mind-altering substances could become a harmful policy. Private intoxication hurts the individual, but public intoxication has the potential to hurt innocent victims. Policy makers should advocate policies that support a healthy, productive and safe society.
In the meantime, if you wish to share additional information with me concerning this issue, please feel free to contact me by calling, emailing, writing, or faxing me. Please be advised that mail sent to my Washington office is subject to an additional two-week delay due to increased mail security.
Thank you again for contacting me on this issue. If I can be of further assistance to you regarding this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am always happy to respond and be of service to you.
Sincerely,
Paul Ryan
Serving Wisconsin’s 1st District
Clearly, if Mr. Ryan took the time to be educated on the subject, he’d find very quickly (just by Googling “marijuana toxicity”) that cannabis (aka marijuana) is in fact non-toxic. It’s even less toxic than water.
In fact, according to former DEA Judge Francis Young, “Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care.”
That’s all Wisconsinites ask for. A little bit of medical care. It costs the state nothing and would make the state (and the rest of the nation) a windfall. Not to mention the thousands of jobs that would be created overnight. After all, isn’t that the reason Governor Walker was put into office in the first place? To create jobs? Things sure are pretty quiet on capitol hill as far as people’s health and job security are concerned.
Madison: Wisconsin’s State Senate passed a statewide K2 ban May 17 on a voice vote. The action means that only one step remains before synthetic cannabinoids marketed as incense under names including K2 and Spice will be as illegal as their natural counterparts in Wisconsin – a floor vote by the State Assembly. That vote is likely to come in the next scheduled floorperiod, which begins June 7. Earlier, the legislation cleared Senate and Assembly committees on unanimous votes.
The push for a statewide ban has been ongoing for more than a year as municipalities and counties began enacting a hodge-podge of bans, with little debate. Hyperbolic rhetoric focusing on a couple isolated incidents portrayed K2 as a deadly scourge that targeted youth. In a state where alcohol related mayhem is a daily occurrence with well over a hundred daily DUI arrests, K2 should not be a major concern. Just like Congress in 1937, Wisconsin elected representatives have failed to do the due diligence or consider the unanticipated consequences of creating new crimes where none existed before. If a bad reaction to a substance is all that is needed to justify locking someone up, what about alcohol?
