House Passes Bill Decriminalizing Marijuana at Federal Level

It's been reported that the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has passed a bill that [...]

By Stephen Andrew

It's been reported that the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has passed a bill that decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level. According to CNBC, this bill approval essentially serves to remove marijuana from the Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act. The legislation passed 24 to 10, and is speculated to have a very good chance of approval in the full House, where Democratic lawmakers control the chamber with 234 seats. The bill also makes room for states to be able to create state-specific guidelines, and even gives incentives for clearing the criminal records of individuals with low-level marijuana offenses.

"The criminalization of marijuana has been a mistake," Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., stated during the markup of the bill. "The racial disparity in marijuana enforcement laws only compounded this mistake with serious consequences, particularly for minority communities."

While the bill has a lot of support from Democratic lawmakers, it is reported that Republican lawmakers feel as if the bill goes too far in its allowances.

"I don't think a majority of the Republicans will support this bill," Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado stated. "It is even less likely that the Senate would take it up. Therefore, I would just suggest that we deal with other bills that we can get a much larger bipartisan support from."

Nadler later replied to Buck's sentiments by saying that he's aware that Republicans won't accept the bill "as is," and adding that House Democrats will attempt to "negotiate" with the Senate.

"I don't think it's a good idea ... to say, 'the Senate won't take this bill.' When the House passes a bill, it's part of a continuing process. It's not the end of a process," he added.

Photo Credit: Bloomberg / Getty Images

0comments
Start the Conversation

of