Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, has made some unexpected waves with his plan to introduce a bill that will return decisions on marijuana to the states without further Federal involvement. At the least, it has some people wondering about the real reason he has chosen "Feel the Bern" as his campaign slogan.
As Uproxx reports, "If passed, [the bill] would end federal prohibition of marijuana and remove it from the Drug Enforcement Agency's list of most dangerous drugs where it is in the company of such hardcore drugs as Heroin and LSD." They go on to say that if the bill passes, "states would be allowed to determine whether to legalize pot for either medical or recreational use with no federal government intervention." In a study done by Drug War Facts, it is found that in 2013, there were a total of 43,982 deaths due to drug overdose. Of these, no deaths were attributed to marijuana.
Many people feel that the prohibition of marijuana is failing and that at this point, it is simply a misuse of tax dollars. Huffington Post quotes Democratic congressman Jared Polis as saying that, the "Introduction of the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act in the Senate is a huge step forward in the movement to enact the commonsense drug laws needed to grow our economy and restore fairness to our justice system." In fact, more than half of Americans like the idea of legalizing pot.
As Sanders pointed out to CNN, "It's a state and a federal issue. The federal issue is that we should remove marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act. That's a federal decision... The state decision is that we live in a federal system of government where issues like tobacco and alcohol are significantly regulated by the states. And I think that is a province of the states." The stance he has on the legalization of marijuana has definitely garnered support with the youth of America as well as the liberals of the country.
A copy of the full bill is available if you would like to read it and get a better idea of what Sanders is proposing.
While the bill has an outside chance, at best, to be pushed through, it has certainly caused many to embrace Bernie Sanders and his campaign slogan "Feel the Bern." Tell us what you think about his campaign in the comments below!
