MERKLEY COSPONSORS BILL TO END PROHIBITION OF MARIJUANA

Kyle Bailey

Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley has announced co-sponsorship of what he says is a “landmark bill that would end the federal prohibition on marijuana”.

A release from Merkley said Senator Cory Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act would remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances, making it legal at the federal level.

Merkley said that more than half of the United States has enacted legislation allowing for either medical use or adult-use of cannabis, yet federal law remains in conflict. Merkley’s release said that creates significant problems, not only with the prosecution of nonviolent cannabis crimes, but with the lack of banking services for legally operating businesses.

Merkley is the fifth Senator to cosponsor the Senate bill. In 2014 Merkley was the first U.S. Senator to support legalizing recreational marijuana.