A ruling in a U.S. Supreme Court case about sports gambling on Monday has positive implications for marijuana legalization.
The case, Murphy v. NCAA, centered on whether the Constitution’s anti-commandeering doctrine prevents the federal government from forcing states to keep prohibitions of certain federally banned activities on their own lawbooks.
California Sen. Kamala Harris announced Thursday she is going to co-sponsor the Marijuana Justice Act, a bill that would legalize marijuana federally.
The bill was originally introduced last August by New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.
This legislation would remove marijuana’s status as a Schedule 1 narcotic under the Controlled Substance Act. It would also require federal courts to expunge Americans’ records who have previous marijuana possession-based convictions.
Marijuana Moment got a first look at the provisions of a bipartisan marijuana bill that could be filed as soon as this week by U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in line with President Trump’s agreement to respect state cannabis laws.
He’s not the only one. In Washington, evolution on the marijuana issue is proceeding at warp speed in political terms. Boehner is just the latest in a string of noteworthy newcomers to the legalization movement that has been barreling through state houses for the past decade. Just in the past several weeks, Mitch McConnell fast-tracked a Senate bill to legalize low-THC hemp. Chuck Schumer announced that he would introduce a bill to deschedule marijuana entirely.
Bernie Sanders announces he will co-sponsor Marijuana Justice Act after years of work on marijuana policy. Years ago, Sen. Sanders introduced the first Senate bill to reschedule marijuana. This legislation also would have stopped private companies from running jails.
Sanders has been a longtime advocate for prison reform, and through it, marijuana policy change. When he ran for President, the Senator became the first serious candidate who said he would vote in favor of legalization.
Sanders’ support of the legislation drew praise from cannabis activists. “Leaders in the Democratic Party are increasingly recognizing that leading the charge on legalization is not only good policy, but good politics,” said NORML’s Justin Strekal in a statement. “The constituencies which the party claims to stand for are the ones who have most felt the weight and lifelong consequences of marijuana criminalization.”
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders became the third senator to sign on as a co-sponsor of Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act on Thursday, joining Oregon’s Ron Wyden and New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand.
One of Sen. Cory Booker’s potential rivals for the 2020 presidential nomination is backing his bid to legalize marijuana on the federal level.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders became the third senator to sign on as a co-sponsor of Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act on Thursday, joining Oregon’s Ron Wyden and New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand.