07-28-2014, 10:27 AM
RAND PAUL GETS IT RIGHT (IMO)
![[Image: randpaul.jpg]](http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2012/images/01/13/randpaul.jpg)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Thursday filed an amendment in the Senate that would protect states that implement medical marijuana laws, as well as patients and physicians in those states, from federal prosecution.
Paul's Amendment 3630, filed Thursday morning to Sen. John Walsh's (D-Mont.) jobs bill being heard on the Senate floor, allows states to "enact and implement laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of marijuana for medical use" without fear of federal prosecution. There are 33 states that have enacted laws protecting some form medical marijuana.
To date, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use. Another 10 have legalized CBD, a non-psychoactive ingredient in cannabis frequently used to treat epilepsy, for limited medical use or research. Still, the federal government continues to ban the plant, classifying it as a Schedule I substance with "no currently accepted medical use."
Due to ongoing partisan gridlock in the Senate, it appears unlikely that Paul's amendment will get a vote.
Full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/24...ps=gravity
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It's silly to me that the US apparently needs a Federal law to prevent the Federal government from finding ways to circumvent State laws on marijuana and pursue prosecution, but we apparently do. Too bad this bill isn't likely to get anywhere because Congress is "gridlocked".
It's beyond me why marijuana is still scheduled as a Class 1 drug despite even the medical and scientific communities' debunking of the hype against its addictive properties and effects. Is anyone still "scared straight"? I don't think so.
Anyway, getting cannabis scheduled properly wouldn't make it legal, but would be an acknowledgement of understanding the true properties of the drug and would probably deter the DOJ from pursuing marijuana distributors in states where voters have deemed medicinal or recreational marijuana legal. I don't know if politicians are too dependent on donations from pharmaceutical companies (who wouldn't want the competition from unobstructed medical marijuana in the states) to address the inaccurate schedule classification or what -- rescheduling marijuana's drug class is so long overdue.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Thursday filed an amendment in the Senate that would protect states that implement medical marijuana laws, as well as patients and physicians in those states, from federal prosecution.
Paul's Amendment 3630, filed Thursday morning to Sen. John Walsh's (D-Mont.) jobs bill being heard on the Senate floor, allows states to "enact and implement laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of marijuana for medical use" without fear of federal prosecution. There are 33 states that have enacted laws protecting some form medical marijuana.
To date, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use. Another 10 have legalized CBD, a non-psychoactive ingredient in cannabis frequently used to treat epilepsy, for limited medical use or research. Still, the federal government continues to ban the plant, classifying it as a Schedule I substance with "no currently accepted medical use."
Due to ongoing partisan gridlock in the Senate, it appears unlikely that Paul's amendment will get a vote.
Full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/24...ps=gravity
---------------------------------------------------------------
It's silly to me that the US apparently needs a Federal law to prevent the Federal government from finding ways to circumvent State laws on marijuana and pursue prosecution, but we apparently do. Too bad this bill isn't likely to get anywhere because Congress is "gridlocked".
It's beyond me why marijuana is still scheduled as a Class 1 drug despite even the medical and scientific communities' debunking of the hype against its addictive properties and effects. Is anyone still "scared straight"? I don't think so.
Anyway, getting cannabis scheduled properly wouldn't make it legal, but would be an acknowledgement of understanding the true properties of the drug and would probably deter the DOJ from pursuing marijuana distributors in states where voters have deemed medicinal or recreational marijuana legal. I don't know if politicians are too dependent on donations from pharmaceutical companies (who wouldn't want the competition from unobstructed medical marijuana in the states) to address the inaccurate schedule classification or what -- rescheduling marijuana's drug class is so long overdue.