Bernie Sanders introduces the bill

The senator's proposal to give individual states the opportunity to legalize marijuana without fear of federal restrictions has garnered thunderous applause from activists. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on Wednesday introduced a bill to remove marijuana from the government's list of "most dangerous" substances — actions that distinguish a Democratic presidential candidate from his opponents in the presidential race.

Under Sanders' plan, marijuana wouldn't immediately become legal. It would be up to the individual states to decide whether to legalize it or not. As a result, each state would have the ability to regulate marijuana laws on the same terms as alcohol or tobacco.

"In my opinion, we should have lifted the federal ban on marijuana as a substance a long time ago.

Sanders said during a speech at George Mason University in Virginia in

last month, when he first announced his plans on the matter.

During his speeches at the University, Sanders stressed that the fact that marijuana is an illegal substance has ruined the lives of many young people. "Too many Americans have had their lives destroyed by being given police records as a result of marijuana possession," Sanders told students. That has to change.' According to the DEA (U.S. government agency for the fight against drugs), marijuana is currently classified in the group of the most dangerous drugs next to heroin, LSD, ecstasy. Less dangerous according to the DEA is cocaine, which sanders described as "absurd". At the same time, he stipulated that after the implementation of his law, the transport of marijuana between individual states would be prohibited. As president, Sanders would have the power to reclassify marijuana on the DEA list. Other proposals for changes in this matter would take place with the consent of Congress. Additionally, it would allow growers and sellers to use banks that are currently cut off from the marijuana trading industry for fear of being shut down by federal authorities. Despite the fact that marijuana is treated by federal law as an illegal substance, four states – Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, as well as the capital District of Columbia – have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. As a result, the U.S. Department of Justice stopped enforcing marijuana laws in states where citizens favored legalizing it for recreational purposes. However, there is no guarantee that this will not change in the future.

"The Obama administration has basically allowed states to do what their people decide."

Sanders said at a Senate meeting last week. "This is a step forward, although

insufficient, because the new administration with a different approach to the matter may simply block

legalization, despite the fact that citizens have decided otherwise''.

Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley, a former Maryland governor, said that when elected, he would use his  power to change the classification of marijuana to be less dangerous. Lead Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has taken a "wait-and-see" approach, saying she will keep a close eye on experiments to fully legalize marijuana in Colorado and Washington before taking any steps at the federal level. While this approach is likely to be positively received by young voters, it will be difficult to achieve support in the Senate for such a bill. Still, marijuana legalization unions describe Sanders' legislation as a "milestone" — the first time such a bill has been introduced in the House. "Senator Sanders caught the attention of the entire country by becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to speak openly about the need for a change in policy regarding marijuana legalization," said Mason Tvert, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project. His actions today will probably have an even greater echo than the last performance from a month ago. Hopefully, this will force Congress to talk about comprehensive marijuana reform," while recent Gallup polls found that 58% of Americans support legalizing marijuana, only a handful of congressional lawmakers favor legalizing or leaving decisions to individual states. Marijuana Majority pointed out that the bill is a sign that the movement has not lost momentum since Ohio rejected the initiative to legalize marijuana. "A growing majority of Americans want each state to pass its own marijuana laws without being interfered with by the DEA, and they also believe lawmakers should listen to their voice," said Tom Angell, president of Marijuana Majority, who did not endorse any of the politicians. "The presentation of this bill proves that the defeat in Ohio does not slow the momentum of our movement."

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/bernie-sanders-legislation-end-federal-ban-marijuana?akid=13629.1118899.lJ4n4T&rd=1&src=newsletter1045296&t=8