T
The420Guy
Guest
Washington, DC: Representative Barney Frank (D-MA)
reintroduced legislation today in the 107th Congress to
provide for the medical use of marijuana. The bill is titled
the "States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act."
"People who are suffering from severe or terminal illnesses
who find a measure of relief from marijuana ought to be able
to use it without being treated like criminals," Frank
announced. "This bill offers an opportunity for my
conservative colleagues to decide if they really want to be
consistent on the question of states' rights or if they think
the federal government should tell states what to do."
The legislation states:
"No provision of the Controlled Substances Act [or] ... the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act shall prohibit or
otherwise restrict --
(A) the prescription or recommendation of marijuana by a
physician for medical use,
(B) an individual from obtaining and using marijuana
from a prescription or recommendation of marijuana by
a physician for medical use by such individual, or
(C) a pharmacy from obtaining and holding marijuana for the
prescription of marijuana by a physician for medical use
under applicable state law in a State in which marijuana
may be prescribed or recommended by a physician for medical
use under applicable State law."
The legislation reschedules marijuana from Schedule I to
Schedule II under federal law. This reclassification properly
recognizes marijuana's medical utility and enables physicians
to legally prescribe it under controlled circumstances while
maintaining restrictions on recreational use.
Since 1996, nine states - Alaska, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington - have
implemented laws allowing seriously ill patients to possess
and use medical marijuana under a doctor's supervision.
While these laws protect patients from state criminal marijuana
penalties, they do not shield patients from federal
prosecution, nor do they allow a state legislature to
legally distribute medical marijuana. The legislation
introduced in Congress today would afford patients legal
protection under federal law, and permit those states that
wish to establish medical marijuana distribution systems
the legal authority to do so.
NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup called the
proposal a streamlined effort to get marijuana to those
who require it.
"Historically, voters and state legislatures have been more
receptive to the medical marijuana issue than the federal
government," Stroup explained. "This legislation addresses
this paradigm and effectively gets the federal government out
of the way of those states that wish to make marijuana available
as a medicine."
Stroup said that the Supreme Court's apparent skepticism
regarding whether patients or medical marijuana providers may
legally raise the defense of "medical necessity" in federal
marijuana cases makes the need to reform federal law more
pertinent than ever. "Judging from the questions raised by
several of the justices, it appears likely the Supreme Court
may reject the medical necessity defense in federal cases," he
said. "Therefore, passage of this legislation by Congress is
crucial. It will enact federal protections to safeguard patients
who are using marijuana medicinally under their doctor's
supervision, and will provide an opportunity for states to
establish their own legal, regulated medical marijuana
distribution systems to supply medicine to those who need it."
Joining Frank in support of this act are Reps. Tammy Baldwin
(D-WI), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), John Conyers (D-MI), Peter
DeFazio (D-OR), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), John Olver (D-MA),
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Pete Stark (D-CA), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).
For more information, please contact Keith Stroup,
NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500. For additional
information, please contact Peter Kovar at the office of
Rep. Barney Frank at (202) 225-5931.
#############################
Support NORML's efforts to change marijuana policy and educate
the public to alternatives to marijuana prohibition. You can
join or donate online at:
https://banqa.uaqa.com/norml/join/
reintroduced legislation today in the 107th Congress to
provide for the medical use of marijuana. The bill is titled
the "States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act."
"People who are suffering from severe or terminal illnesses
who find a measure of relief from marijuana ought to be able
to use it without being treated like criminals," Frank
announced. "This bill offers an opportunity for my
conservative colleagues to decide if they really want to be
consistent on the question of states' rights or if they think
the federal government should tell states what to do."
The legislation states:
"No provision of the Controlled Substances Act [or] ... the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act shall prohibit or
otherwise restrict --
(A) the prescription or recommendation of marijuana by a
physician for medical use,
(B) an individual from obtaining and using marijuana
from a prescription or recommendation of marijuana by
a physician for medical use by such individual, or
(C) a pharmacy from obtaining and holding marijuana for the
prescription of marijuana by a physician for medical use
under applicable state law in a State in which marijuana
may be prescribed or recommended by a physician for medical
use under applicable State law."
The legislation reschedules marijuana from Schedule I to
Schedule II under federal law. This reclassification properly
recognizes marijuana's medical utility and enables physicians
to legally prescribe it under controlled circumstances while
maintaining restrictions on recreational use.
Since 1996, nine states - Alaska, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington - have
implemented laws allowing seriously ill patients to possess
and use medical marijuana under a doctor's supervision.
While these laws protect patients from state criminal marijuana
penalties, they do not shield patients from federal
prosecution, nor do they allow a state legislature to
legally distribute medical marijuana. The legislation
introduced in Congress today would afford patients legal
protection under federal law, and permit those states that
wish to establish medical marijuana distribution systems
the legal authority to do so.
NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup called the
proposal a streamlined effort to get marijuana to those
who require it.
"Historically, voters and state legislatures have been more
receptive to the medical marijuana issue than the federal
government," Stroup explained. "This legislation addresses
this paradigm and effectively gets the federal government out
of the way of those states that wish to make marijuana available
as a medicine."
Stroup said that the Supreme Court's apparent skepticism
regarding whether patients or medical marijuana providers may
legally raise the defense of "medical necessity" in federal
marijuana cases makes the need to reform federal law more
pertinent than ever. "Judging from the questions raised by
several of the justices, it appears likely the Supreme Court
may reject the medical necessity defense in federal cases," he
said. "Therefore, passage of this legislation by Congress is
crucial. It will enact federal protections to safeguard patients
who are using marijuana medicinally under their doctor's
supervision, and will provide an opportunity for states to
establish their own legal, regulated medical marijuana
distribution systems to supply medicine to those who need it."
Joining Frank in support of this act are Reps. Tammy Baldwin
(D-WI), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), John Conyers (D-MI), Peter
DeFazio (D-OR), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), John Olver (D-MA),
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Pete Stark (D-CA), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).
For more information, please contact Keith Stroup,
NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500. For additional
information, please contact Peter Kovar at the office of
Rep. Barney Frank at (202) 225-5931.
#############################
Support NORML's efforts to change marijuana policy and educate
the public to alternatives to marijuana prohibition. You can
join or donate online at:
https://banqa.uaqa.com/norml/join/
