Vermont Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders has introduced legislation, S 2237, to remove marijuana from the US Federal Controlled Substances Act. The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2015 would deschedule cannabis from the CSA, as is alcohol and tobacco. This legislation provides states the power to establish their own marijuana policies and banking policies free from federal interference.
The bill reads, “This Act shall not apply to marihuana, except that it shall be unlawful only to ship or transport, in any manner or by any means whatsoever, marihuana, from one State, territory, or district of the United States… to the jurisdiction thereof, into any other State, territory, district of the United States.”
Senator Sanders called cannabis’ present schedule I state under federal law “absurd.” He added: “In my view, the time is long overdue for us to remove the federal prohibition on marijuana. … [S]tates should have the right to regulate marijuana the same way that state and local laws now govern the sale of alcohol and tobacco.” He also said that state-compliant marijuana operations “should be fully able to use the banking system without fear of federal prosecution.”
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws – Advocacy Campaigns
