Pot Criminalization: Up in Smoke?

[FAHQTOO]

IT'S ABOUT TIME -- PROPOSED END TO THE FED'S WAR ON MARIJUANA



This is so long-overdue and such a positive shift in mindset and policy for America, IMO. Since the bill was drafted by two Democrats AND a high-profile Republican, maybe it can even get passed by Congress. God I hope so.

A sweeping Senate bill introduced Tuesday seeks to significantly roll back the federal government's war on medical marijuana.

The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act, introduced by Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), seeks to drastically reduce the federal government's ability to crack down on state-legal medical marijuana programs and encourage more research into the plant through several major changes in federal law.

Here are some highlights of the legislation:

Protection From Federal Prosecution: One of the most significant goals of the bill is to allow for patients, doctors and businesses to participate in their states' medical marijuana programs without fear of being prosecuted by the federal government, which continues to ban the substance in all forms. Under this new legislation, the Controlled Substances Act would be amended so that states can set their own medical marijuana policies.

To date, 23 states, along with the District of Columbia, have legalized medical marijuana and 12 others have legalized the limited use of low-THC marijuana for medical purposes. The state laws and people acting in compliance with them would be protected by this bill.

Reclassifying Marijuana As A Less Dangerous Substance: Under the Controlled Substances Act, the U.S. has five categories for drugs and drug ingredients. Schedule I is reserved for what the Drug Enforcement Administration considers to have the highest potential for abuse and no medical value. Marijuana has been classified as Schedule I for decades, alongside other substances like heroin and LSD.


Financing Reform: Banks Could Work With Medical Marijuana Businesses: Legal marijuana, both medical and recreational, is the fastest-growing industry in the U.S., and the vast majority of the industry's more than $1 billion in annual revenue is brought in by state-legal medical marijuana programs. But because of banks' fears of being implicated as money launderers, marijuana-related businesses are often forced into cash-only transactions, putting retailers' safety at risk and creating problems with taxes and employee payroll. Despite the Treasury Department's 2014 guidance, which supporters hoped would ease interactions, most banks are still extremely wary of working with marijuana businesses since the plant remains illegal under federal law. The legislation would expand banking access for medical marijuana businesses, enabling them to function largely like traditional businesses.

Open Up Avenues For Research On The Plant: Getting the federal government to sign off on a marijuana study is exceedingly difficult, and two of the most stifling federal barriers to marijuana research would be lifted under this new legislation. Currently, all marijuana research must go through a Public Health Service review -- a process established in 1999 by the federal government after a 1998 Institute of Medicine report called for more scientific research into the medical value of marijuana. It's a process that no other Schedule I substance is subject to and one that researchers and lawmakers alike have criticized for thwarting research. That extra step would be removed entirely under the Senate bill.

Easier Access For Veterans: Currently, doctors working under the Department of Veterans Affairs are prohibited from aiding their patients who are seeking medical marijuana, even in states where it is legal. This legislation would lift that ban and allow for VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana to their veteran patients suffering from certain conditions, where it is legal to do so under state law.

The CARERS Act has the support of more than 20 high-profile policy organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Safe Access, Marijuana Policy Project, Drug Policy Alliance, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.

Full piece: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/10...36482.html