Bipartisan Bill Would Respect State Choices on Marijuana Regulation
New York, N.Y. – Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) are introducing the “Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States Act,” or “STATES Act” today. The bill would alter the current Controlled Substances Act so that, with limited exceptions, possessing or distributing marijuana in a state that has legalized the drug would no longer be a federal crime. This change would give state lawmakers the freedom to set their own marijuana policy without fear of federal intervention.
“This new bill introduced by Senators Warren and Gardner safeguards states’ ability to set their own reasonable policies about marijuana against the punitive and ineffective approaches preferred by Attorney General Jeff Sessions,” said Inimai Chettiar, director of the Brennan Center’s Justice program. “In the face of outdated federal policy, this bill defends the ability and responsibility of states to create and test the best marijuana policies for the American people, and will decrease the number of people in our country who are unnecessarily incarcerated.”
Click here to see the Brennan Center report Criminal Justice: An Election Agenda for Candidates, Activists, and Legislators.
To connect with a Brennan Center expert, contact Rebecca Autrey at rebecca.autrey@nyu.edu or 646–292–8316.
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