Senators Propose Federal Medical Cannabis Bill; Would Eliminate Schedule 1 Status; Cannabis Stocks Rally

LAKE FOREST, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 12, 2015 / MJIC, Inc., a venture capital firm focused exclusively on the legal cannabis industry, is pleased to provide the following market update regarding breaking news impacting the market:

A bipartisan trio of U.S. Senators unveiled a bill yesterday to remove federal prohibitions on medical marijuana in states where it is already legal. Senate Bill S3's co-sponsors include Lehigh Valley Sens. Lisa Boscola, a Democrat, and Pat Browne, a Republican.

Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky and Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced the legislation on Capitol Hill in an afternoon press conference. The formal name of the proposed legislation is the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States Act (CARERS Act).

The bill aims to eliminate the uncertainty surrounding use of marijuana in the states that allow it for medicinal purposes. 

Despite being legal in 23 states and the District of Columbia, federal prohibition on marijuana prevents doctors at veterans' facilities from prescribing it for medical purposes and makes access difficult.

Of equal, if not more significance, a key component of the bill calls for downgrading marijuana's status with the Drug Enforcement Agency from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2. If approved, this new designation for cannabis would have wide-ranging implications, including allowing doctors to recommend its use in some cases to veterans, expanding access to researchers and making it easier for banks to provide services to the industry.

Simultaneously but separately, a Federal judge in Sacramento is expected to render a decision soon that could impact the classification of marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug-in the same category as heroin, cocaine and other hardcore substances. Lawyers for the case under consideration have argued that the classification is unconstitutional.

Companies trading in the legal marijuana industry continue to rally on anticipation of federal marijuana regulation changes. Top performers this week include Medbox (OTCQB:MDBX), Vape Holding Inc. (OTCQB: VAPE), American Cannabis (OTCQB:AMMJ) and Cannabis Science (OTCQB:CBIS).

In other news:

Marijuana legalization effort in California moves forward with the MCLR announcing this week, the opening of the MCLR 2016 language for input from the community. The initiative will establish clear guidelines for Medical Marijuana and Adult-use Marijuana in addition to allowing for the production of industrial hemp in the state. According to Attorney General Kamala Harris, MCLR would, "Reduce costs potentially exceeding one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) annually to state and local governments," related to enforcing certain marijuana-related offenses, handling the related criminal cases in the court system and incarcerating marijuana offenders. Harris also reported MCLR would add "A few hundred million dollars annually" from additional tax revenues. Additionally, MCLR stands to create thousands of jobs in California.

Read more: http://marijuanaindex.com/2015/03/marijuana-legalization-effort-california-moves-forward-2016/

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