WASHINGTON, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–April 18, 2013. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) introduced legislation in Congress today that would establish a federal commission to review current marijuana policies and explore ways to resolve the conflict between federal laws prohibiting marijuana and state laws that make marijuana legal for medical or personal adult use. In a December television interview, President Obama said going after marijuana consumers will not be a priority of the federal government in states where voters have made it legal for adults. He also highlighted the need for a discussion in Congress about how to reconcile state and federal marijuana laws.
“We have clearly reached a point where the American people want marijuana prohibition to end,” said Steve Fox, national political director for the Marijuana Policy Project. “The states have been taking the lead, but the federal government must catch up.
“It is no longer a question of whether the federal government should allow states to enact their own marijuana policies,” Fox said. “Of course, it should. The question now is how to reconcile state and federal laws. This Commission bill proposes a study and a discussion that is long overdue.”
The bill would establish a National Commission on Federal Marijuana Policy that would “undertake a comprehensive review of the state and efficacy of current policies of the Federal Government toward marijuana in light of the growing number of States in which marijuana is legal for medicinal or personal use…” Its duties would include, but would not be limited to: addressing the conflict between federal and state marijuana laws; studying the costs of marijuana prohibition and potential state and federal regulation, as well as the potential revenue that could be generated by taxing marijuana; assessing the impact of federal banking and tax laws on state-legal marijuana businesses; and examining the potential public health and safety benefits and risks related to marijuana use, and in comparison to alcohol and tobacco use.
