Marijuana Bill Faces Opposition by Members of Senate Judiciary Committee

A bill introduced by three U.S. senators that would end the federal prohibition on medical marijuana faces opposition by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to Politico. The committee includes some of the most senior legislators in Congress.

Many of the committee members came to power when tougher penalties were being implemented for drug possession, the article notes. Several members say the Obama Administration is not adequately enforcing existing federal drug laws.

“I’m probably against it,” Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, the most senior Senate Republican and a member of the Judiciary Committee, said of the new bill. “I don’t think we need to go there,” added Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate Republican. “This is a more dangerous topic than what a lot of the advocates acknowledge.”

The new measure was introduced by Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, both Democrats, and Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Republican. The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act, would reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I drugs, which include heroin, have no accepted medical use in the United States. Schedule II drugs have a legitimate medical use but also have a high potential for abuse.

The bill would permit Veterans Affairs doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to veterans, and would make it easier for scientists to obtain marijuana for medical research. It would allow banks and credit unions to provide the same services to the marijuana industry as they do to other businesses, without the fear of federal prosecution or investigation, the article notes.

Because marijuana is still illegal under federal law, banks have been reluctant to conduct business with marijuana-related companies. Banks have feared being accused of helping these businesses launder their money.