Chuck Schumer drops legislation that would decriminalize marijuana use on federal level as rival bill Trump supports would let states determine their own laws on pot

• The legislation would allow states to decide how to handle marijuana possession
• President Trump has expressed support for a Senate bill that would allow states to determine how to handle their own laws on marijuana use
• That determination would happen without interference from feds
• Schumer said he's seen too many lives ruined after being jailed for pot use 

By Emily Goodin,

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer formally introduced new legislation to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.

The Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act, effectively decriminalizing it at the federal level.

It would allow states to decide how to handle marijuana possession, according to a statement from Schumer's office.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer formally introduced new legislation to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level

Medical marijuana is legal in more than two dozen states and recreational marijuana is legal in nine states and Washington, D.C.

'The time to decriminalize marijuana is now,' Schumer said in the statement. 'The new Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act is about giving states the freedom to be the laboratories that they should be and giving Americans – especially women and minority business owners as well as those convicted of simple possession of marijuana intended for personal use - the opportunity to succeed in today's economy.'

Many liberals argue marijuana should be decriminalized and that it's a matter of 'racial justice,' noting that more African Americans are arrested for marijuana use than whites.

Black people were arrested for marijuana use at a rate of 17.7 per 100,000 in 2016, while white people were arrested at a rate of 1.8 per 100,000 — about 10 times less, according to a report by the Drug Policy Alliance, a pro-legalization group.

Schumer's legislation would also invest $500 million over five years to the Department of Health and Human Services for medical marijuana research and understanding the effects of THC.

Schumer told Vice News in April he had 'seen too many people's lives ruined because they had small amounts of marijuana and served time in jail much too long.'

Attorney General Jeff Sessions told The Hill newspaper last week that President Donald Trump hasn't talked to him about decriminalizing federal marijuana laws, but that he believed the president would support legislation to protect states that do so.

'What I understood the president to have told Senator Cory Gardner was that if a state legalizes marijuana, he may be supportive of legislation that would honor that state's decision,' Sessions told The Hill's TV show 'The Rising.'

Sessions, a noted opponent of marijuana use, pulled back Obama administration guidance in January that allowed states to legalize marijuana with minimal interference from federal officials.

Trump said earlier month this that he would 'probably' back a bipartisan bill that could let states determine their own marijuana laws and prevent the federal government from getting involved.

That bipartisan bill, introduced by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, and Cory Gardner, a Republican, would allow states to regulate marijuana without federal interference.

'I support Sen. Gardner. I know exactly what he's doing,' Trump told reporters. 'We're looking at it. But I probably will end up supporting that, yes.'

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he believed the president would support legislation to protect states that decriminalize marijuana use

Trump said earlier month this that he would 'probably' back a bipartisan bill that could let states determine their own marijuana laws and prevent the federal government from getting involved

Garner and Warren, who both represent states with legal recreational marijuana, announced a partnership on the legislation in April in an effort to hold Trump to his word about favoring a states-rights approach to recreational pot, a position he voiced during the 2016 presidential race.

Warren said the goal of the legislation is to 'ensure that each state has the right to determine for itself the best approach to marijuana within its borders.'

A Gallup poll in October showed 64 percent of Americans think marijuana should be legal.

Medical marijuana is legal in more than two dozen states and recreational marijuana is legal in nine states and Washington, D.C.