Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Lawmakers To Fire Up Bill: Asking Feds To Respect States and Citizens Rights | Marijuana.com

Lawmakers To Fire Up Bill: Asking Feds To Respect States and Citizens Rights | Marijuana.com

Bipartisan Bill Introduced To Address Federal Preemption of State Marijuana Laws

Would Clarify That States Can Determine Their Own Cannabis Policies

A bipartisan group of legislators from around the country led by Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colorado) on Tuesday introduced a bill in Congress that would clarify that Colorado and Washington may fully implement the new marijuana laws approved by voters on November 6.

The bill, known as the "Respect States' and Citizens' Rights Act," would add a provision to the federal Controlled Substances Act expressly stating that state marijuana laws shall not be preempted by federal law.

Other sponsors of the legislation include Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), Rep. Steven Cohen (D-TN), and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ).

"This is an extremely significant political event," said Steve Fox, director of state campaigns and government relations at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). "These members of Congress, motivated by the recent votes in Colorado and Washington, are expressing their opinion that federal law should not undermine the wishes of voters in these states.


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