Ron Paul, Barney Frank Introduce Bill
Reps. Ron Paul (R-TX) and Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced a bipartisan bill today that would remove the federal prohibition on marijuana. The bill would instead let states legalize, regulate and tax marijuana.
USA Today reports the bill is being championed by a legalization advocacy group: The Marijuana Policy Project. It cites a report released this month by the Global Commission on Drug Policy that slammed the decades-old war on drugs and called on governments to take a look at decriminalizing marijuana and other drugs.
The bill by Frank and Paul would “end state/federal conflicts over marijuana policy, re-prioritize federal resources and provide more room for states to do what is best for their own citizens,” the group says.
Politico says the legislation is modeled after the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which repealed the federal prohibition on alcohol and handed that responsibility to the states. Quoting the Marijuana Policy Project, Politico reports it’s “the first bill ever introduced in Congress to end federal marijuana prohibition.”
The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. John Conyers (D-MI), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Jared Polis (D-CO), and Barbara Lee (D-CA).
Frank said “he’s not advocating marijuana use, but believes that criminal prosecution is a waste of resources and an intrusion on personal freedom.”
KANSAS MEDIOCRITY 
It’s about damned time. But they’re not going nearly far enough to satisfy a “radical” like me. Check out this report by Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP): Ending the Drug War – A Dream Deferred.
So the world’s going to pot 🙂
I don’t believe this will happen in my lifetime because there are too many positives. Wow. Just realized how pessimistic that sounds but what I mean is too many positives for “real people” and less for industry. I always reckoned if they passed something similar, the old cig companies could simply switch over to pot and get rich doing that. There’s too much benefit from pot, though. For example, if Brother does a one hit in the AM, he can function like a normal human being for hours. Of course, the problem for him is the other stuff he may or may not do but I’m saying–pot does wonders for him (in small doses). I haven’t done drugs since I was 15 but I have smoked pot and I’ll tell you, it sure as hell helped my mentrual cramps and accompanying headache (or that I cared about them–whatever). I don’t think I could smoke it if it were legalized (asthma) but it would prolly still do a great job on headaches.
Roll it, light it, smoke it! Well I’d like to to have a puff, literally a puff, b/c I’m afraid to get too high.