April 17, 2008
FRANK INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO REMOVE FEDERAL PENALTIES ON PERSONAL MARIJUANA USE
Congressman Also Files Bill Permitting Medical Use of Marijuana in States that Choose to Allow it with Doctor’s
Recommendation
Congressman Barney Frank today introduced bi-partisan legislation aimed
at removing federal restrictions on the individual use of marijuana (HR
5843). One
bill would remove federal penalties for the personal use of marijuana, and
the other (HR 5842) – versions of which Frank has filed in several preceding sessions
of Congress – would allow the medical use of marijuana in states that have
chosen to make its use for medical purposes legal with a doctor’s
recommendation. Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) joined Frank as a cosponsor
of the federal penalties bill. The cosponsors of the medical marijuana bill
are Rep. Paul, along with Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Dana Rohrabacher
(R-CA), and Sam Farr (D-CA).
Congressman Frank released the following statement explaining the
legislation.
“I think it is poor law enforcement to keep on the books legislation that
establishes as a crime something which in fact society does not seriously
wish to prosecute. In my view, having federal law enforcement agents engaged
in the prosecution of people who are personally using marijuana is a waste
of scarce resources better used for serious crimes. In fact, this type of
prosecution often meets with public disapproval. The most frequent recent
examples have been federal prosecutions of individuals using marijuana for
medical purposes in states that have voted – usually by public referenda –
to allow such use. Because current federal law has been interpreted as
superseding state law in this area, most states that have made medical use
of marijuana legal have been unable to actually implement their laws.
"When doctors recommend the use of marijuana for their patients and
states are willing to permit it, I think it’s wrong for the federal
government to subject either the doctors or the patients to criminal
prosecution. More broadly speaking, the norm in America is for the states to
decide whether particular behaviors should be made criminal. To make the
smoking of marijuana, whether for medical purposes or not, one of those
extremely rare instances of federal crime – literally, to make a ‘federal
case’ out of it – is wholly disproportionate to the activity involved. We do
not have federal criminal prohibitions against drinking alcoholic beverages,
and there are generally no criminal penalties for the use of tobacco at the
state and federal levels for adults. There is no rational argument for
treating marijuana so differently from these other substances.”
“To those who say that the government should not be encouraging the
smoking of marijuana, my response is that I completely agree. But it is a
great mistake to divide all human activity into two categories: those that
are criminally prohibited, and those that are encouraged. In a free society,
there must be a very considerable zone of activity between those two poles
in which people are allowed to make their own choices as long as they are
not impinging on the rights, freedom, or property of others. I believe it is
important with regard to tobacco, marijuana and alcohol, among other things,
that we strictly regulate the age at which people may use these substances.
And, enforcement of age restrictions should be firm. But, criminalizing
choices that adults make because we think they are unwise ones, when the
choices involved have no negative effect on the rights of others, is not
appropriate in a free society.”
“If the laws I am proposing pass, states will still be free to treat
marijuana as they wish. But I do not believe that the federal government
should treat adults who choose to smoke marijuana as criminals. Federal law
enforcement is a serious business, and we should be concentrating our
efforts in this regard on measures that truly protect the public.”
CLICK HERE FOR A SUMMARY OF HR 5843
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