LET THE STATES DECIDE THEIR OWN MARIJUANA POLICIES

Lawmakers for the first time have introduced
legislation in Congress to end the federal
criminalization of the personal use of marijuana.

The bipartisan measure -- H.R. 2306, the 'Ending
Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011' and
sponsored by Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank
and Texas Republican Ron Paul along with Reps.
Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), John Conyers (D-Mich.),
Jared Polis (D-Colo.), and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)
- -- prohibits the federal government from
prosecuting adults who use or possess personal
use amounts of marijuana by removing the plant
and its primary psychoactive constituent, THC,
from the five schedules of the United States
Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Under present
law, all varieties of the marijuana plant are
defined as illicit Schedule I controlled
substances, defined as possessing "a high
potential for abuse,"and "no currently accepted
medical use in treatment." This classification is
not supported by either existing science or public opinion.

Said Rep. Frank last Thursday upon the bill's
introduction, Criminally prosecuting adults for
making the choice to smoke marijuana is a waste
of law enforcement resources and an intrusion on
personal freedom. I do not advocate urging people
to smoke marijuana, neither do I urge them to
drink alcoholic beverages or smoke tobacco, but
in none of these cases do I think prohibition
enforced by criminal sanctions is good public policy.=94

H.R. 2306 seeks to federally deregulate the
personal possession and use of marijuana by
adults. It marks the first time that members of
Congress have introduced legislation to eliminate
the federal criminalization of marijuana since
the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.

H.R. 2306 mimics changes enacted by Congress to
repeal the federal prohibition of alcohol.
Passage of this measure would remove the existing
conflict between federal law and the laws of
those sixteen states that already allow for the
limited use of marijuana under a physicians'
supervision. It would also permit state
governments that wish to fully legalize and
regulate the responsible use, possession,
production, and intrastate distribution of
marijuana for all adults to be free to do so without federal interference.

In recent years, several states =AD including
California, Massachusetts, and Washington =AD have
considered taking such actions either
legislatively or via the ballot initiative
process, and it is likely that several additional
states will be considering this option in 2012,
including Colorado, and Washington. The citizens
and lawmakers of these states should be free to
explore these alternate policies =AD including
medicalization, decriminalization, and/or
legalization =AD without running afoul of the
federal law or the whims of the Department of Justice.

Of course, just as many states continued to
criminalize the sale and consumption of alcohol
following the federal government's lifting of
alcohol prohibition, no doubt many =AD if not most
states =AD would continue, at least initially, to
maintain criminal sanctions regarding the use of
marijuana. However, there is no justification to
have the federal government continue to compel
them to do so. Just as state and local
governments are now free to enact there own
policies regarding the sale and use of alcohol =AD
a mind-altering, toxic substance that causes far
greater harm to the user than does marijuana =AD
they should be free to adopt marijuana policies
that best reflect the wishes and mores of their citizens.

Speaking during an online town hall in January,
President Obama acknowledged that the subject of
legalizing and regulating marijuana was a
=93legitimate topic for debate.=94 Yet last week Rep.
Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House
Committee on Judiciary, boasted that he would not
even consider scheduling the measure for a public
hearing. On Friday, when NORML requested its
members to contact Rep. Smith's office, the
Congressman promptly shut off his DC office phone
and later closed down his Facebook page.

It's obvious why marijuana prohibitionists like
Rep. Smith will go to such lengths to try and
stifle any public discussion of the matter. Over
the past 70+ years, the federal criminalization
of marijuana has failed to reduce the public's
demand or access to cannabis, and it has imposed
enormous fiscal and human costs upon the American
people. Further, this policy promotes disrespect
for the law and reinforces ethnic and
generational divides between the public and law enforcement.

Since 1970, police have arrested over 20 million
American citizens for marijuana offenses =AD nearly
90 percent of which were prosecuted for the
personal possession of marijuana, not marijuana
trafficking or sale. Yet today federal surveys
indicate that the public, including America's
young people, have greater access to marijuana =AD
including stronger varieties of marijuana =AD than
ever before. It is time to stop ceding control of
the marijuana market to unregulated, criminal
entrepreneurs and allow states to enact common
sense regulations that seek to govern the adult
use of marijuana in a fashion similar to alcohol.

After 70 years of failure it is time for an
alternative approach. The Ending Federal
Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011 is an ideal first step.

Paul Armentano is the deputy director of the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws (NORML), and is the co-author of the book
Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?