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Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has 4/20 plans to introduce a bill that would legalize marijuana nationwide! From NPR:
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., plans to introduce legislation on Friday to decriminalize marijuana on the federal level, adding a high-profile advocate in the effort to decriminalize, legalize and normalize marijuana use in America.
Schumer's legislation would remove marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under a 1970 law that classifies marijuana as dangerous as heroin for legal and regulatory purposes. It would establish funding for women- and minority-owned marijuana businesses, require more research on the drug's public health impact, and maintain federal authority to regulate commercial advertising, similar to existing regulations for tobacco and alcohol.
"If smoking marijuana doesn't hurt anybody else, why shouldn't we allow people to do it and not make it criminal?" Schumer told HBO's Vice News in a Thursday interview previewing his bill. To drive home that point, Schumer also agreed to sign a bong.
Sen. Schumer sat for an interview with Vice News to layout his reasoning, which is largely centered around unnecessary mass incarceration and racial injustice, disproportionately affecting communities of color, who generally have much higher arrest and incarceration rates for marijuana, despite similar usage levels of white communities. This is a must-watch interview on why this bill is so important.
Schumer isn’t the only one to get on the marijuana train. Last week, retired Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner announced he was also fully jumping on the marijuana train.