Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has been a longtime proponent on the war on drugs and is making a move now to end the federal prohibition of marijuana.
The Senate Minority Leader of New York announced this week that he will introduce a bill soon to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act altogether, leaving it so that states can decide their own practices.
Speaking to VICE News, Schumer said, “The legislation is long overdue,” he said in an interview with VICE News. “I’ve seen too many people’s lives ruined because they had small amounts of marijuana and served time in jail much too long.”
The bill is called the Marijuana Justice Act and would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act as well as withhold funding from states that have racially disparate marijuana enforcement rates.
“With this announcement, Senator Schumer has effectively made it clear that a legislative priority for the Democratic Party is to end the federal prohibition of marijuana,” remarked Justin Strekal, political director of NORML.
He continued, “As Democratic Leader, it is his role to ensure that the caucus as a whole falls in line with this public policy position — a position that is held by more than 60 percent of Americans.”
