members of congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

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Members of Congress to Introduce Historic Legislation Ending Marijuana Prohibition (Press Release)

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by David Guard, June 22, 2011, 02:33pmPosted in:

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• Marijuana Legalization
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MEDIA ADVISORY June 22, 2011

Thursday: Members of Congress to Introduce Historic Legislation Ending Marijuana Prohibition
The Legislation, Modeled after the Repeal of Alcohol Prohibition, Comes on the 40th Anniversary of the Failed War on Drugs and on the Heels of a Global Commission Report Recommending Marijuana Legalization
Teleconference: Rep. Barney Frank and Leading Organizations Working to End the Failed War on Marijuana Explain the Significance of the Legislation​

CONTACT: Morgan Fox, communications manager………………......(202) 905-2031 or mfox@mpp.org
WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) will introduce bi-partisan legislation tomorrow, June 23, ending the federal war on marijuana and letting states legalize, regulate, tax, and control marijuana without federal interference. Other co-sponsors include Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA). The legislation would limit the federal government’s role in marijuana enforcement to cross-border or inter-state smuggling, allowing people to legally grow, use or sell marijuana in states where it is legal. The legislation is the first bill ever introduced in Congress to end federal marijuana prohibition.
Leading critics of the war on marijuana will explain its significance for state and national marijuana policy at a national tele-press conference on Thursday.
What: Tele-Press Conference on the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011
When:Thursday, June 23. 2:00pm EST / 11am PST
Call-in Info: 1-800-311-9404 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-800-311-9404 end_of_the_skype_highlighting; Passcode: Marijuana
Who:
· Representative Barney Frank (D-4th/MA)
· Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)
· Aaron Houston, executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)
· Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
· Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)
Last week marked the 40th Anniversary of President Nixon declaring a war on marijuana and other drugs. In an oped in the New York Times last week, timed for the 40th Anniversary, former President Jimmy Carter called for reforming marijuana laws.
The legislation also comes on the heels of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which released a report on June 2 calling for a major paradigm shift in how our society deals with drugs, including calling for legal regulation of marijuana. The report sent a jolt around the world, generating thousands of international media stories. The commission is comprised of international dignitaries including Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations; Richard Branson, entrepreneur, founder of the Virgin Group; and the former Presidents of Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Switzerland. Representing the U.S. on the commission are George P. Shultz, Paul Volcker, and John Whitehead.
46.5% of Californians voted last year to legalize marijuana in their state, and voters in Colorado, Washington and possibly other states are expected to vote on the issue next year. In the past year at least five state legislatures have considered legalizing marijuana, including California, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Washington. 16 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use, but the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continues to arrest people under federal law and U.S. Attorneys have in recent months sent threatening letters to state policymakers in an apparent attempt to meddle in state decision-making.
Rep. Frank’s legislation would end state/federal conflicts over marijuana policy, reprioritize federal resources, and provide more room for states to do what is best for their own citizens.
With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

####​

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Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

I will get the info to email your congressman and ask them to pass this bill .

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

This is awesome... hope it will pass... probably not but a man can dream!

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

Maybe not but keep hoping.

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

congress is the only 1 who can change the law . and we need to tell them to pass it . they think they want vote on this until next year . but we have to do evreything we can to get them to pass it . if you don't speakout then they will keep doing the same thing .

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

good luck

meanwhile in holland, im going to some private weed convention in amsterdam tomorrow for coffeeshop/smartshop owners/employees only to smoke some of the best weed in europe and drink for free.

sry guys,, now u know what you fight for.

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

LOL, weed conventions are private here to.

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

please don't talk about smoking or they will close the thread .

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

Y'all don't know what your missing here in colorado denver was the first city to decriminalize then the feds stepped in I personally Believe we got the best the world has to offer and by the way I'm 100% legal hahahaha

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

i shared this on my facebook. hopefully it will help spread the word

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

It ain't gonna pass but who gives a f**ck amsterdam sucks compared to usa ganj lets see there's sour d chemdog bubba kush og kush all l00% americana not wack ass watered down amsterdam crap there's more dispensaries here in denver then starbucks that's some real shit right there

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

You to Support the End of Federal Marijuana Prohibition »
Members Of Congress Introduce First Federal Measure Since 1937 To Legalize The Adult Use Of Marijuana

June 23rd, 2011 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
Share this Article

House lawmakers introduced legislation in Congress today to end the federal criminalization of the personal use of marijuana.
The bipartisan measure, HR 2306 – entitled the ‘Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011’ and sponsored by Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank and Texas Republican Ron Paul along with Reps. Cohen (D-TN), Conyers (D-MI), Polis (D-CO), and Lee (D-CA) – prohibits the federal government from prosecuting adults who use or possess marijuana by removing the plant and its primary psychoactive constituent, THC, from the five schedules of the United States Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Under present law, all varieties of the marijuana plant are defined as illicit Schedule I controlled substances, defined as possessing ‘a high potential for abuse,’ and ‘no currently accepted medical use in treatment.’
Said Rep. Frank, “Criminally prosecuting adults for making the choice to smoke marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources and an intrusion on personal freedom. I do not advocate urging people to smoke marijuana, neither do I urge them to drink alcoholic beverages or smoke tobacco, but in none of these cases do I think prohibition enforced by criminal sanctions is good public policy.”
The ‘Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act’ seeks to federally deregulate the personal possession and use of marijuana by adults. It marks the first time that members of Congress have introduced legislation to eliminate the federal criminalization of marijuana since the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.
Language in this Act mimics changes enacted by Congress to repeal the federal prohibition of alcohol. Passage of this measure would remove the existing conflict between federal law and the laws of those sixteen states that allow for the limited use of marijuana under a physicians’ supervision. It would also allow state governments that wish to fully legalize and regulate the responsible use, possession, production, and intrastate distribution of marijuana for all adults to be free to do so without federal interference. (To date, lawmakers in six states have introduced legislation to legalize and regulate the adult use of cannabis, and separate statewide initiative measures are planned for 2012 in several additional states.)
Speaking in support of the measure, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said, “The federal criminalization of marijuana has failed to reduce the public’s demand or access to cannabis, and it has imposed enormous fiscal and human costs upon the American people. It is time to end this failed public policy and to provide state governments with the freedom to enact alternative strategies — such as medicalization, decriminalization, and/or legalization — without running afoul of the federal law or the whims of the Department of Justice.”
You can read the full text of Allen’s remarks from today’s press conference, which is being reported today by major news outlets nationwide, here.
NORML, along with representatives from the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), and the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), worked closely with members of Congress in drafting the measure.
Additional information regarding this measure is available from NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here.
AFTERNOON UPDATE:
Below is video of co-sponsor Steven Cohen (D-TN) speaking on the House floor today in favor of HR 2306: Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011.


Tags: Barney Frank, Cohen, Congress, Controlled Substances Act, Conyers, Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011, Federal, Lee, legalization, prohibition, Ron Paul, Schedule I, THC

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 at 1:50 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a trackback from your own site.


52 Responses to “Members Of Congress Introduce First Federal Measure Since 1937 To Legalize The Adult Use Of Marijuana”

• Elizabeth Isaacson Says:
  June 23rd, 2011 at 1:57 pm I am a Disabled American whom would like to know how I could go about getting a Medical Marijuana Card in Tennessee or suggestions as to what to do.
  I moved down here 3 years ago after being falsely arrested & legally searched with my kids taken all cause I smoked Marijuana and refused to take opium based mental health governmental pills that made me a cutter and inflict physical abuse on myself when I came off.
  Also anything I can do in the campaign to legalize please let me know.
  Sincerely
  Elizabeth Isaacson
• Tom Konkol Says:
  June 23rd, 2011 at 2:23 pm I read this while listening to Mississippi Half-step, and finally felt happy reading something coming out of american politics.
• Bhonze Says:
  June 23rd, 2011 at 2:25 pm

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

please john denver , they will close the board if we talk about smoking . it's nice to have the medical but they don't want people talking about smoking .

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

Same here, puttin it out there for as many people to see as possible.

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

Sorry old goat ill shut up now

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

Gotta love Ron Paul!

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

thankyou john , believe me i no for a fact that CANNABIS IS MEDICINE . and if you want to have time with someone who's dying of cancer please help them to relax . when the cancer goes to the brain they want be able to talk much . and when they do it's like there from mars . CANNABIS will help them to say some words and you will be able to talk with them . and when you start to die your body shakes and you can't stop it . but CANNABIS will stop it . they need it beg them . make them promise you that they will try and love them all you can before they shut down and pass . god bless you mama RIP MAY 31 TUESDAY 7:32 AM .

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

Sorry for your loss old goat! I almost lost my mom last year.I don't believe the government has any say in this at all!It's a shame they will deprive people on their death bed so big pharma can make money off em.

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

I also lost my father to bone cancer so I know how you feel old goat I am so sorry for your loss at the moment I am helping a woman with terminal cancer I give her edibles she says it helps her with pain and allows her to sleep at night i know first hand the medicinal benefits of marijuana

 

Re: members og congress to introduce historic legistation on june 23

thankyou guys , john please let me thankyou for helping this woman . i saw for 2 years what it can do to help . from chemo to the death bed . you will never know how it is to go to watch your mom die until you do it . MY MOM COULD'NT SAY 1 WORD THE LAST 6 DAYS WITHOUT CANNABIS . well the last 4 days because on the 5 day she could'nt hardly breath anymore . i ask her if she wanted some and she tryed to say yes . but she was to weak to inhale . you stop breathing for 45 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes at the end . then try to breath again . she breathed like this for 1 1/2 and days then die tuesday morning 5-31-11 at 7:32 am . we said she was fighting like a bulldog to breath and live . i sleeped only 18 hours that 6 days .