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New Jersey’s Department of Health announced Monday that it will significantly boost the number of licenses it distributes in hopes of expanding the state’s medical marijuana program.
But accessing medical marijuana remains difficult for some patients, even in states that hope to permit its use, cannabis advocates say. Because cannabis remains classified as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved it to reduce pain, treat anxiety or provide other much-touted health benefits.
A growing list of Democratic presidential contenders want the U.S. government to legalize marijuana, reflecting a nationwide shift as more Americans look favorably on cannabis.
Making marijuana legal at the federal level is the “smart thing to do,” says California Sen. Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor whose home state is the nation’s largest legal pot shop. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a prominent legalization advocate on Capitol Hill, says the war on drugs has been a “war on people.”
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, one of half a dozen Democratic senators running for the White House, is reintroducing a bill on Thursday that would fundamentally end the federal government's prohibition on marijuana.
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.
