Bernie Sanders Backs Bill To Punish States With Bad Marijuana Laws

APR 19, 2018 @ 08:47 AM

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is signing on as a cosponsor of the Marijuana Justice Act, introduced last year by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).

The Marijuana Justice Act, if passed, would not only remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act so that states could legalize without federal interference, but would also withhold funding from states that maintain criminalization and continue racially disproportionate arrest and incarceration rates for cannabis.

The legislation would also direct federal courts to expunge prior marijuana convictions and would allow people punished under disproportionately enforced cannabis laws to file civil lawsuits against those states.

During his run for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, Sanders became the first major contender to endorse legalization. He also filed legislation in the 114th Congress that would have simply removed cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act.

Earlier this year, he launched an online petition calling on the federal government to "end its failed war on drugs."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2018/04/19/bernie-sanders-backs-bill-to-punish-states-with-bad-marijuana-laws/#2df67a7629d0