Advocates of Medical Marijuana Urge Lawmakers to Protect State Laws

Advocates of medical marijuana came to Capitol Hill this week to urge legislators to pass a measure that would ban the federal government from restricting state medical marijuana laws.

Currently, 20 states have legalized medical marijuana, but the drug remains illegal under federal law. New York may become the next state to legalize medical marijuana, Time reports. The bill is unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled House, the article notes. Democrats in the Senate do not want to champion the issue in a midterm election year. The Obama Administration seems willing to consider taking marijuana off the federal government’s list of the most dangerous drugs, according to the magazine.

“Once you use this medication and it works for you, or you see it work for a loved one, it really is crazy that we can’t even get a hearing at this point,” said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana advocacy group. “We’re actually regulating this product from seed to consumption.” Her group brought 152 people to Washington to lobby Congress.