Senator Kristen Gillibrand of New York Cosponsors Marijuana Justice Act
It seems like at this point, if a democrat was to be nominated president in the 2020 election, marijuana is very likely to become legalized nationally at that time. Most of the leading democrats for presidential nomination have now at least cosponsored Cory Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act, and we can now include Senator Kristen Gillibrand out of New York.
The Marijuana Justice Act is a bill that focuses on the social injustices faced my minorities and low-income individuals from the federal prohibition of cannabis. Recent studies have shown that while marijuana related arrests have been on the decline, racial disparities are still skewed against black people.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who signed onto the bill as a cosponsor on Wednesday and did a Facebook Live chat with Booker about it, called cannabis legalization “a social justice issue and a moral issue that Congress needs to address.”
The vocal pro-legalization support from the two senators, who are widely considered to be weighing campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, signals that a shift toward marijuana reform advocacy that has been underway in the party for some time is elevating to a near consensus.
Gallup found last year that 72 percent of Democrats back marijuana legalization, and a Quinnipiac University survey last month showed that 95 percent of the party’s voters support medical cannabis.
The latter poll also showed that just 12 percent of Democrats want the federal government to interfere with the implementation state marijuana laws.
Obviously, there is no way to know whether a democrat will be elected during the next election, however there are also plenty of republicans that support the descheduling of marijuana. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah sponsored the MEDS Act which would deschedule marijuana, however his bill focuses on giving the cannabis industry over to the pharmaceutical industry. Recent polls have shown that most people in the United States support legalization. What do you bet that there will be a lot of candidates that support marijuana legalization during the next election?
read more at forbes.com
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2020 Presidential ElectionCory BookerMarijuana Justice ActOrrin HatchSenator Kristen Gillibrand
