VICE
News - Sen. Chuck Schumer to introduce bill to "decriminalize"
marijuana
April 20, 2018 (Investorideas.com
Newswire) The Minority Leader of the Senate is making it official the day
before 4/20: He's down with legal weed.
In an exclusive interview with
VICE News, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confirmed he is putting his name on
legislation that he said is aimed at "decriminalizing" marijuana at
the federal level.
For Schumer, this is a shift.
While he has backed medical marijuana and the rights of states to experiment
with legal sales of pot, what he is proposing is a seismic shift in federal
drug policy.
"Ultimately, it's the right
thing to do. Freedom. If smoking marijuana doesn't hurt anybody else, why
shouldn't we allow people to do it and not make it criminal?" Schumer
said.
The legislation, which his office
expects will be released within the next week, has six main points. First, it
would remove marijuana from Drug Enforcement Administration's list of
controlled substances, which would end federal prohibition and leave it up to
states to decide how to regulate the drug. Schumer stopped short of calling it
legalization, but de-scheduling would essentially make marijuana legal at the
federal level.
The legislation, which his office
expects will be released within the next week, has six main points. First, it
would remove marijuana from Drug Enforcement Administration's list of
controlled substances, which would end federal prohibition and leave it up to
states to decide how to regulate the drug.
It also would create some funding
for minority and women-owned marijuana businesses, provide money for research
into overall effects of marijuana and it's specific effect on driving
impairment. And lastly, it would "maintain federal authority to regulate
marijuana advertising in the same way it does alcohol and tobacco," which
Schumer said is to make sure marijuana businesses aren't targeting children
with their ads.
Schumer went further saying that
he would support legalization in his home state of New York as well as any
other state that wants to move in that direction. "My personal view is
legalization is just fine," he said. "The best thing to do is let
each state decide on its own."
While this looks like an obvious
election year-play, Schumer claimed it wasn't about he looming 2018 or 2020
elections.
"I'm doing it because I
think it's the right thing to do. I've seen too many people's lives ruined by
the criminalization," he said. "If we benefit, so be it. But that's
not my motivation."
When asked if he had ever smoked
weed before, Schumer said no, but when pressed on whether he might be willing
to try it he said, "Maybe, I'm a little old, but who knows?"
The full interview will air April
19, 2018 at 7:30 on VICE News Tonight on HBO.
source Story: https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/7xdjqz/sen-chuck-schumer-to-introduce-bill-to-decriminalize-marijuana
Marijuana / Hemp Stocks
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