Senators introduce bill to lift federal ban on medical marijuana

[JURIST] A bipartisan group of three US Senators on Tuesday announced legislation to end the federal ban on medical marijuana. The bill, called the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act, was announced by senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) [official websites]. If passed, the bill would end the federal restriction on medical marijuana and allow for several comprehensive reforms [WP report], including: permission for limited interstate transport, an expansion of access to cannabis for research purposes, and reclassification of marijuana under Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) [official website] standards from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2, which would allow doctors to recommend the drug to veterans, and banks to provide services to the industry. While the issue of recreational marijuana is still being debated, medical marijuana, and each state’s ability to decide how to regulate it, has found bipartisan [WP report] support in both the House and the Senate.

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