Sen. Rand Paul and others to introduce federal medical marijuana bill

It is the first time a bill like this has been introduced.

By Thor Benson    March 9, 2015 at 6:28 PM

WASHINGTON, March 9 (UPI) -- Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) will introduce a federal medical marijuana bill on Tuesday.
The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act would end the federal ban on medical marijuana. According to Vox, it would also change marijuana's classification to Schedule 2, instead of its current Schedule 1 status. Schedule 1 means there is no medical benefit to the substance and it is considered dangerous.

Rand Paul, a likely presidential candidate, has spoken out about marijuana in the past. He hasn't quite said it should be legal, but he has said people shouldn't be serving long jail terms for smoking it.

A recent Pew poll found 63 percent of Republican Millennials favor marijuana legalization.


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