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posted by martyb on Wednesday August 02 2017, @12:39PM   Printer-friendly
from the smoke-screen? dept.

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker has introduced a bill (alt) that has been described by Marijuana Majority as the most far-reaching marijuana bill ever filed in either chamber of Congress. It would legalize cannabis federally by removing "marihuana" and tetrahydrocannabinols from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. But it would go much further by withholding money from states with racially or financially disparate arrest and incarceration rates for cannabis-related crimes (effectively all states where cannabis is illegal):

The bill would legalize marijuana at the federal level and withhold federal money for building jails and prisons, along with other funds, from states whose cannabis laws are shown to disproportionately incarcerate minorities.

Under the legislation, federal convictions for marijuana use and possession would be expunged and prisoners serving time for a marijuana offense would be entitled to a sentencing hearing.

Those "aggrieved" by a disproportionate arrest or imprisonment rate would be able to sue, according to the bill. And a Community Reinvestment Fund would be established to "reinvest in communities most affected by the war on drugs" for everything from re-entry programs to public libraries.

Booker says that he will work towards bipartisan support for the bill.

Serious legalization attempt or just advertising for a 2020 U.S. Presidential Campaign?


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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday August 03 2017, @02:43PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 03 2017, @02:43PM (#548365) Journal

    You did leave out a detail. Ocycontin and other drugs are over prescribed by doctors, because of some asinine false statistics spread around by the pharmaceuticals.

    My last ride in an ambulance, I was shot full of morphine. I wasn't in any real pain. Yeah, I hurt a little, but crap, not real pain. The ambulance crew hooked up their tubing and crap, and I was pretty much out of things. Kind of aware, but not really with it - just hanging in there. And, of course, they administered the morphine. Fek, I didn't need a pain reliever, I just needed to see a doctor, who could have made things all better without a potentially addictive drug being administered.

    But, that's what the medical profession does. It dopes people up. If you get addicted, that's your problem not ours.

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