Adam Edinger and other DC cannabis advocates gathered east of the U.S. Capitol Plaza field to demand that congressional lawmakers reduce the ban on cannabis use in the District of Columbia, and that they illegally smoke cannabis and make further arrests, according to a statement issued Monday, May 24, 2017. Capitol Hill in Washington DC.
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WASHINGTON – The House is expected to vote Friday on a law that would legalize marijuana nationwide, removing criminal penalties for anyone who manufactures, distributes or possesses the substance.
The law, known as the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expansion Act, was passed in the House last year, but did not pass the Senate. The bill would also establish a way to remove previous suffixes from public records and impose a tax on the sale of cannabis products.
The tax will start at 5 percent and will eventually increase to 8 percent. Funds raised through taxes will go to a fund to provide job training, counseling, substance abuse treatment, legal aid, re-entry services and youth entertainment programs. It would provide loans to help small businesses in the cannabis industry owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, “the bill said in a summary.
“This groundbreaking law is one of the most important criminal justice reform bills in recent history,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, said in comments on the floor on Thursday.
Pelosi said the law would “provide justice for victims of the brutal, unjust consequences of criminalization”, “open the way for people to participate in the industry and criminalize the perpetrators at the federal level” so we will not repeat the serious mistakes of our past. “
Thirty-seven states and Washington, D.C. have enacted legislation to legalize medical marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, of which 18 states and DC have legalized cannabis for recreational purposes. California became the first state in 1996 to legalize medical marijuana. Pelosi highlights the changes that have taken place at the state level over the past few decades.
“Now is the time for the federal government to follow suit,” he said.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., made sense to create similar legislation in their chambers. Ron Wyden, D-Or. And Corey Booker, working with DNJ Democrats will need all of their members and 10 Republicans to overcome the 60-vote hurdle needed to advance in the final vote, as the bill is unlikely to pass in the Senate.