Federal: Bill Introduced To End Federal Marijuana Prohibition

Your Letter:
<br /> In light of recent comments by the Administration, I’m writing as your constituent to urge you to support and possibly co-sponsor The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act, HR 1227. This Act excludes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, thus leaving states the authority to regulate the plant how best they see fit.</p> <p>The ongoing enforcement of cannabis prohibition financially burdens taxpayers, encroaches upon civil liberties, engenders disrespect for the law, impedes legitimate scientific research into the plant’s medicinal properties, and disproportionately impacts communities of color. A majority of the country now allows legal consumption of marijuana in some way.</p> <p>Never in modern history has there existed greater public support for ending the nation’s nearly century-long experiment with marijuana prohibition and replacing it with regulation. The historic votes on Election Day — when a majority of voters in California, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nevada decided at the ballot box to regulate the adult use of marijuana, and several other states passed medical marijuana legalization laws — underscore this political reality.</p> <p>The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that all “powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people,” leading former Supreme Court Justice Brandeis to famously opine, “[A] state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” Today, voters are increasingly demanding regulatory alternatives to marijuana criminalization, and states are moving ahead with these policies. They should be free to do so without federal interference or fear of prosecution. </p> <p>According to recently released nationwide survey data from Quinnipiac University, the majority of Americans support the repeal of federal marijuana prohibition. Fifty-nine percent of voters say that the adult use of marijuana should be legal while a whopping 93 percent support the medical use of marijuana. Perhaps most importantly, 71 percent of voters — including strong majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — say that they “oppose the government enforcing federal laws against marijuana in states that have already legalized medical or recreational marijuana.”</p> <p>Again, I strongly urge you to move forward The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2017, HR 1227.</p> <p>Thank you for your consideration.<br />