Skip to main content

Senators Plan to Introduce Federal Medical Marijuana Bill

 
 
 
 
 
UPDATE, 7:30 p.m.: This post was updated to provide more details on the provisions in the bill.
In what advocates describe as an historic first, a trio of senators plan to unveil a federal medical marijuana bill Tuesday.
The bill, to be introduced by Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), would end the federal ban on medical marijuana and implement a series of reforms long sought by advocates. They include downgrading its status with the Drug Enforcement Agency from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2, allowing doctors to recommend its use in some cases to veterans, expanding access to researchers and making it easier for banks to provide services to the industry.
[What’s in the historic medical marijuana bill being unveiled on Tuesday]
The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act would “allow patients, doctors and businesses in states that have already passed medical marijuana laws to participate in those programs without fear of federal prosecution,” according to a joint statement from the senators’ offices. The bill will also “make overdue reforms to ensure patients – including veterans receiving care from VA facilities in states with medical marijuana programs – access the care they need.”
The proposal will be unveiled at a 12:30 p.m. press conference on Tuesday, which will be streamed live here. Patients, their families and advocates will join the senators at the press conference.
The announcement was met with praise by advocates.
“This is a significant step forward when it comes to reforming marijuana laws at the federal level,” Dan Riffle, director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement. “It’s long past time to end the federal ban,” said Michael Collins, policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance, said in a statement. Both describe the introduction of the bill as a first for the Senate.
[The Republican argument to end marijuana prohibition]
Advocates are riding a wave of success in recent years, with voters in four states — Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington — approving the legalization of the drug for recreational use. The idea has made significant gains in public opinion as well. In December, Congress for the first time in roughly a decade of trying approved an amendment that bars the Justice Department from using its funds to prevent states from implementing their medical marijuana laws — a significant victory for proponents of the practice.
Potential Republican presidential candidates Rand, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) have all said they support states’ rights to legalize pot, though they themselves disagree with the policy.
In recent years, several national polls have found majority support for legalizing marijuana. Differences are typically highly split by age — the young tend to disproportionately support such policies.
Medical marijuana has been approved to varying degrees in 23 states and D.C.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An uptick in Hiring, Importance of Background Screening

An uptick in Hiring, Importance of Background Screening -KG April 9, 2015 Although some states have changed their laws around medical and recreational marijuana use, more than half of 3,119 HR professionals surveyed said their organizations do not accommodate marijuana use in the workplace or plan to do so in the next year. That is among the findings of HR 2015 Employee Background Screening Benchmark Report, conducted in October and November 2014 with HR professionals responsible for employment screening and recruiting. “This is going to be one of the hottest topics of the year in terms of background screening: drug screening,” said Rachel Trindade, vice president of marketing at HR, a provider of employment background checks, drug and health screenings, and Form I-9 employment verification. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have legalized the possession of marijuana for medical use, and four states and the District of Columbia have legaliz
Post a Comment
Read more

Workplace Violence...Are you and your staff protected??

Workplace Violence: It Can Happen Anywhere HUMAN RESOURCES ARTICLE 08/04/2016 Varying degrees of workplace violence can happen anywhere, and at any time. According to  OSHA , nearly 2 million American workers report having been victims of workplace violence each year, yet many more cases go unreported. While there’s no standard or regulation applicable to workplace violence, OSHA does have a  General Duty Clause  that it enforces, which states among other things that each employer “shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death of serious physical harm to his employees.” While workplace violence may happen anywhere at any time, it may also be instigated by anyone. Violent behaviors may come from a white-collar employee, a blue-collar worker, or a third party–such as customers or an employee's partner. What are some common factors or warning signs to
1 comment
Read more

The pluses and pitfalls of background checks in the automotive field

January 14, 2019 12:00 AM The pluses and pitfalls of background checks Retailers must navigate various federal and state regs, experts say Anisa Jibrell Tweet Share Share Email Print AUTOMOTIVE NEWS ILLUSTRATION Especially for jobs involving handling money and customer information, background checks can be valuable, a dealership group official says. A decade ago when Scottsdale, Ariz., police uncovered a local fraud ring, they learned that breached information came from an unexpected source: an auto dealership finance manager. A background check likely would have paid off for the dealership, Henry Brown Buick-GMC-Pontiac in suburban Gilbert. But even though background checks may seem like an obvious way to protect dealerships from hiring untrustworthy employees, some dealerships don't use them. And dealerships that do rely on background checks must navigate a complex w
Post a Comment
Read more