U.S.: Conservatives Lead New Congressional Push To End War On Marijuana

Submitted by steveelliott on Tue, 04/16/2013 - 20:53

 

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News
A new push in Congress to end the federal War On Marijuana is being led by some of the most conservative members of the Republican conference.
The "Respect State Marijuana Laws Act," introduced in the House last week, would protect anyone acting legally under state marijuana laws from federal prosecution under the Controlled Substances Act, reports Tim Dickinson at Rolling Stone. The legislation would cover both medical marijuana laws and overall legalization in states like Colorado and Washington, where voters last fall decided to make cannabis legal for adults 21 and older.
Poll data released last week from Pew Research found that 60 percent of Americans believe the federal government should allow states to decide for themselves when it comes to the marijuana laws. The same poll found that 57 percent of Republicans also favor the same approach, "which may explain why this bill is attracting arch-conservative backers in the House," according to Rolling Stone.
The three conservative GOP cosponsors of the "Respect State Marijuana Laws Act" are:
• Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California, best known to liberals as a climate change denier for speculating that global warming is the result of dinosaur flatulence;
• Rep. Don Young of Alaska, mastermind of the infamous Bridge To Nowhere, who recently made headlines for remembering the "wetbacks" his father employed on the family farm; and
• Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, who recently got "purged" from the Republican House Budget Committee, allegedly for being too conservative. Amash has repeatedly voted against toughening the penalties for human trafficking.
"These hardcore Republicans are joined in a ganja Gang of Six by liberal pro-pot stalwarts Reps. Jared Polis of Colorado, Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Steve Cohen of Tennessee," Rolling Stone tells us.
Rep. Rohrabacher said the bipartisan bill "establishes federal government repsect for all states' marijuana laws" by "keeping the federal government out of the business of criminalizing marijuana activities in states that don't want it to be criminal."
"Marijuana prohibition is on its last legs because most Americans no longer support it," said Steve Fox, national political director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). "This legislation presents a perfect opportunity for members to embrace the notion that states should be able to devise systems for regulating marijuana without their citizens having to worry about breaking federal law."
(Photo: StoptheDrugWar.org)

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