Three senators, two Democratic and one Republican, have introduced a bill to end the federal ban on medical marijuana and lower restrictions on access and transport.
The bill, called the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act, is sponsored by Democrat Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. The bipartisan nature of the legislation makes this one of the most important medical marijuana legislation in history.
“We need policies that empower states to legalize medical marijuana if they so choose — recognizing that there are Americans who can realize real medical benefits if this treatment option is brought out of the shadows,” Booker said at a press conference in Washington, D.C. “Doctors and patients deserve federal laws that are fair and compassionate, and states should be able to set their own medical marijuana policies without federal interference.”
“Otherwise law-abiding Americans — bankers, business people, veterans, families — are fearful of unnecessary, expensive, life-disrupting investigations and prosecutions,” Booker added. “Today we join together to say enough is enough.”
The bill would change the way that medical marijuana is classified by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration). Reclassifying it as a Schedule II drug instead of a Schedule I drug. This change would give medical marijuana the same legal standing as narcotics. This would, according to a statement released by the three senators, “allow patients, doctors and businesses in states that have already passed medical-marijuana laws to participate in those programs without fear of federal prosecution.”
Advocates of relaxing medical negligence laws are excited about the new bill. A number of organizations involved with passing medical and recreational marijuana laws in different states were involved in writing the bill. These organizations include the Drug Policy Alliance, the Marijuana Policy Project and Americans for Safe Access.
“It really is a comprehensive bill—it would effectively end the federal war on medical marijuana,” said Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana Majority, to the Washington Post. Although only a slim majority of Americans favor legalization of recreational marijuana, medical marijuana has a much higher approval rating.
According to people familiar with the bill, it has five major parts:
• The classification of marijuana would be downgraded from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2. Schedule 1 drugs are those the DEA believes have no medical use and a high potential for abuse.
• The bill would make it easier to transport medical marijuana between states. Currently medical marijuana is allowed in 23 states and the District of Columbia and the other states have varying degrees of restrictions on transporting it. This makes it difficult for people who have been prescribed medical marijuana to get access to it.
• Banks would be allowed to provide services to the marijuana industry.
• It would increase access to cannabis for research.
• It would allow doctors working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to recommend it in certain situations.
With a softening of attitudes toward the use of medical marijuana and increased bipartisan support for a lessening of the federal government’s role in medical and recreational legalization, this bill could be the first step in returning that authority to the individual states.