Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calls for marijuana legalization on 4/20

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday called to legalize marijuana at the federal level.

“Today is what you might call a very unofficial American holiday — 4/20,” Schumer said. “It’s as appropriate a time as any to take a look at our laws that have overcriminalized the use of marijuana and put it on a par with heroine, LSD and other narcotics that bear little or no resemblance in their effects either on individuals or on society more broadly.”

“The war on drugs has too often been a war on people, particularly people of color,” Schumer continued. “Hopefully the next time this unofficial holiday 4/20 rolls around, our country will have made progress in addressing the massive over-criminalization of marijuana in a meaningful and comprehensive way.”

“It’s time for change. I believe the time has come to end the federal prohibition on marijuana in this country,” he said from the Senate floor. “In state after state through ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments, the American people are sending a clear message that they want this policy changed.”

Schumer also said that a group of senators working on legislation to end the federal prohibition on marijuana are aiming to have draft legislation “in the near future.”

Happy 420.

From the Senate Majority Leader.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 20, 2021

So far, 15 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use, and 36 states allow its medical use.

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