U.S. House Takes Up Marijuana Decrim

Legislators aim to snuff out penalties for pot use

It’s a banner day for drug policy reform. The top story on CNN for a while this morning was a resolution by Barney Frank to remove federal penalties for possession of less than 100 grams of pot. This seems aimed squarely at preventing federal raids and harassment of medical marijuana dispensaries in states which have voter-approved medical marijuana.

(CNN) — The U.S. should stop arresting responsible marijuana users, Rep. Barney Frank said Wednesday, announcing a proposal to end federal penalties for Americans carrying fewer than 100 grams, almost a quarter-pound, of the substance.

Current laws targeting marijuana users place undue burdens on law enforcement resources, punish ill Americans whose doctors have prescribed the substance and unfairly affect African-Americans, said Frank, flanked by legislators and representatives from advocacy groups.

"The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government’s business," Frank said on Capitol Hill. "I don’t think it is the government’s business to tell you how to spend your leisure time."

The Massachusetts Democrat and his supporters emphasized that only the use — and not the abuse — of marijuana would be decriminalized if the resolution resulted in legislation.

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In a shot at Republicans, Frank said it was strange that those who support limited government want to criminalize marijuana.

Asked whether the resolution’s passage would change his personal behavior, Frank quipped, "I do obey every law I vote for" but quickly said he did not use marijuana, nor does he encourage it.

"I smoke cigars. I don’t think other people should do that. If young people ask me, I would advise them not to do it," he said.

If HR 5843 were passed, the House would support marijuana smokers possessing up to 100 grams — about 3½ ounces — of cannabis without being arrested. It would also give its blessing to the "nonprofit transfer" of up to an ounce of marijuana.

The resolution would not address laws forbidding growing, importing or exporting marijuana, or selling it for profit. The resolution also would not speak to state laws regarding marijuana use.

Hard to say whether such a proposal stands a snowball’s chance of passage. But it’s one more sign of the times that even many legislators are fed up with our ridiculous trumped-up ‘war on drugs.’ Is this the beginning of the end of that failed policy?

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