Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) Monday gave a public coming out event for
a bill designed to stop federal government interference with medical
marijuana patients and providers in states where it is legal. The bill
debuted at a press conference where Blumenauer was surrounded by medical
marijuana supporters who were in town for meetings and lobbying as part
of the National Cannabis Unity Conference sponsored by Americans for Safe Access.
The bill, House Resolution 689,
is known as the State’s Medical Marijuana Patients Protection Act. It
is the latest effort to find a way to end federal interference in
medical marijuana states. It has 13 cosponsors, including California
Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.
The bill aims "to provide for the rescheduling of marijuana and for the
medical use of marijuana in accordance with the laws of the various
States." It calls on the Department of Health and Human Services and the
DEA to reschedule marijuana to a schedule other than Schedule I or II.
Schedule I — where marijuana is currently placed — is reserved for
substances with a high danger of abuse and "no currently accepted
medical treatment in the United States," while Schedule II drugs have
lower abuse potential and some accepted medical uses. Schedules III, IV,
and V, where the bill mandates marijuana should be placed, all have
some accepted medical use and "moderate to low," "low," and "lower"
abuse potential, respectively.
The bill also bars the use of the Controlled Substance Act to "prohibit
or otherwise restrict" medical marijuana prescribing or recommending,
possession or cultivation, or distribution of medical marijuana in
states where it is legal.
The unwillingness of the federal government to either restrain itself in
states where medical marijuana is legal or to allow for it to be
rescheduled has led to tension and conflict between the states and the
federal government, Blumenauer said.
"This means that the 19 jurisdictions that permit medical marijuana are
operating in a patchwork of inconsistent local and federal laws," he
explained. "These inconsistencies create significant challenges for both
patients and the businesses working to provide access to medical
marijuana.Frankly, the people in the federal bureaucracy are in an
impossible position. The bill gets the federal government and the
Department of Justice out of this never-never land."
Also addressing the press conference was Dr. Karen Munkacy, a breast
cancer survivor who helped lead the successful campaign for medical
marijuana in Massachusetts last year. The lack of protection for medical
marijuana patients left her faced with a cruel dilemma, she said.
"I had to choose between breaking the law and suffering terribly," Munkacy said. "And I chose to suffer terribly."
Iraq war veteran Scott Murphy told the press conference that 22 veterans
killed themselves each day last year and that medical marijuana could
aid returning vets suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
"If medical marijuana could help just one veteran, it would be worthwhile," he said.
The Blumenauer bill is only the latest to emerge in Congress this
session. Inspired by the continuing conflict over medical marijuana, as
well as the legalization victories in Colorado and Washington in
November, members have introduced bills on medical marijuana, marijuana legalization, and industrial hemp.
Early in February, Blumenauer teamed up with Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) to announce the introduction of legalization and medical marijuana taxation bills. At mid-month, Blumenauer announced his pending States’ Right bill, while Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced medical marijuana and hemp bills, respectively. A hemp bill was introduced earlier in the House.
Whether any of these bills move remains to be seen. The atmosphere is
especially hostile in the House, where Majority Leader John Boehner
(R-OH) is no friend of marijuana and some committee chairs are even more
hostile than the House leadership. Still, the bills are out there, and
there are more of them than ever before. A new generation is picking up
the slack left by the retirement of veteran drug reformers Reps. Barney
Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) — and then some.
And it is going to win victories, if not this year, then next year, or
the year after that. Marijuana reform isn’t going away in Congress and
it seems to be gaining steam in the states. Medical marijuana could be
the law in nearly half the states by year’s end if the legislative
season goes well, and marijuana legalization bills have popped up in a
half dozen states this year — the latest being Blumenauer’s Oregon.
Legalization initiatives are coming down the pike next year and in 2016.
Increasingly, US congressmen and senators will be representing states
that have adopted medical marijuana and/or legalized marijuana. We are
already starting to see the results on Capitol Hill, and while the
federal government may be the last brick in the wall of pot prohibition,
that wall is already starting to crumble around the edges.
