Bill Introduced by Bernie Sanders Would Allow States to Determine Marijuana Status

A bill filed Wednesday by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont would allow states to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana, according to CNN. The bill would also decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.

“It’s a state and a federal issue. The federal issue is that we should remove marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act. That’s a federal decision,” Sanders told CNN. “The state decision is that we live in a federal system of government where issues like tobacco and alcohol are significantly regulated by the states. And I think that is a province of the states.”

Sanders, a Democratic candidate for president, said the bill would allow marijuana growers and dispensers in states where the drug is already legal to use the banking system without fear of federal prosecution. Marijuana remains illegal on the federal level.

Last week, Sanders said “the time is long overdue for us to remove the federal prohibition on marijuana,” during an event that was live-streamed to about 300 college campuses nationwide.

He proposed using revenue gained from a tax on marijuana to pay for drug rehabilitation for those who abuse harder drugs. He said he saw a racial component to the millions of people imprisoned on drug charges, and added the legal equivalence of marijuana and heroin is absurd. “The criminal justice system is broken,” he said.

At the Democratic presidential debate earlier last month, Sanders indicated he would support the legalization of recreational marijuana. His answer marked the first time a 2016 candidate has openly supported legalizing recreational marijuana.

On Tuesday, Sanders said he supported the Ohio referendum to legalize marijuana, though voters in the state rejected the proposal. “The state wants to go forward, they should be able to go forward without legal impediments from the federal government, and that’s what this legislation is about,” he said.