According to Daily News, Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, renewed his calls on Friday for the federal decriminalization of marijuana on the federal level after several months spent lining up Republican support.
Recent surveys reveal that most Americans support the legalization of marijuana use for recreational purposes. As of last year, New York became the 15th state to legalize recreational marijuana.
However, efforts to translate cross-party support into federal law have encountered obstacles in the Senate.
On a mostly party-line vote, the House passed a cannabis decriminalization bill late in 2020. In July, Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced draft legislation designed to eliminate cannabis' classification under the Controlled Substances Act and to create a federal regulatory pathway.
Although the introduction of the 163-page draft bill in the Senate was a symbolic moment, no results have yet been obtained.
Schumer plans to intensify his outreach in the coming weeks and to introduce final decriminalization legislation prior to a nationwide push.
According to him, he hopes to finalize the bill in the next "several months"; he met with drug policy activists late last month to discuss the need to adopt legislation that addresses inequities resulting from past policies.
However, President Biden has not made the issue of marijuana a priority. As much as the president supports the decriminalization of marijuana, he has not advocated for its legalization, and he did not show enthusiasm for the Senate's proposal last year
Despite certain resistance, Schumer said that some Republicans have also supported the bill.
Considering that over 18 states have legalized recreational use, 37 have legalized medical use, and most Americans assert it is time to legalize marijuana, it won't be a wonder if the government legalizes marijuana sooner or later.
