Bernie Sanders’ Would Take a Unique Approach to Legalization
Ryan Allway
October 29th, 2015
Policy, Top Story
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is taking a unique approach to legalization, saying that he would remove marijuana entirely from the government’s schedule of controlled substances if elected as the next president.
While the move wouldn’t amount to a federal legalization of the drug, it would strip the Department of Justice of its powers to prosecute individuals or businesses, while enabling states to enact their own measures to explicitly legalize the drug. It would also open the door to medical researchers looking to study the benefits of cannabinoids and enable those that want to grow their own medication at home to do so without fear in supportive states.
The move differs from the approach suggested by many other presidential candidates, who either refused to give a stance on the matter or simply insisted that the federal government would stay out of the matter (without removing the drug from the list). With his significant number of followers as a second place democratic candidate, the move also represents a major milestone for cannabis advocates in pushing forward a favorable agenda.
Read More: Dem Debate Uncovers Surprising Stances on Marijuana
Legalization Differences
The Obama administration has pushed to ease regulations that put non-violent criminals behind bars and effectively looked the other way when states legalized marijuana, but these moves left the door open for the Department of Justice to step in and enforce laws.
With marijuana remaining as a Schedule I Controlled Substance, the DEA and other criminal justice agencies thought it within their rights to prosecute individuals and businesses in states that had legalized medical and/or recreational marijuana. These raids have become increasingly commonplace, despite court challenges that have countered them, and they are likely to remain commonplace until the federal government makes a move.
Read More: Federal Court Slams DEA for Harassing Legal MMJ Operations
A second problem is that a Schedule I Controlled Substance has no medical value – by definition – which means that federal agencies like the FDA are unable to support the development of drugs that incorporate them. As a result, millions of Americans suffering from terminal conditions and other diseases are unable to obtain the benefits of cannabinoids, while governments aren’t even allowed to assess their efficacy.
Increasing Support for Legalization
Support for the legalization of cannabis has been growing nationwide, especially after states like Colorado legalized the drug without any issue.
In a recent Gallup poll, the number of Americans using marijuana has doubled over the past decade, rising to more than 22 million users representing 44% of respondents. A record 58% of Americans also expressed a belief that the drug should be legalization nationwide, which is the highest level in 46 years and ties 2013 results. These numbers are even more impressive when considering the 1981 to 1997-born demographic where support reached more than 70%.
Read More: Marijuana Goes Mainstream and Society is Still Intact
The issue of legalization has already come up in the presidential debates and several candidates have shown themselves to be on the right side of history. In November, voters will have an opportunity to decide where the industry is headed over the coming years.
Photo courtesy of Phil Roeder and used under Creative Commons.
This article was published by CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the industry’s leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the burgeoning CBD and legal cannabis industries. Call +1 (833) 420-CNFN for more information.
About Ryan Allway
Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.
Search CannabisFN
Press Coverage
Psychedelics Index
Top Videos
Tom Zuber is Zuber Lawler & Del Duca’s Managing Partner. He has a degree with highest honors in biomedical engineering and has advised some of the most iconic companies in the world on their patent and trademark portfolios. He is at the cutting edge of cannabis patent and trademark law. He holds degrees from Harvard University and Columbia Law […]
In addition to his role as Founder and CEO at MAZAKALI, Sumit is a consultant to The Arcview Group and the Managing Partner of Emerald Ventures. A frequent speaker at investment seminars, Sumit acts as a mentor to Arcview and Canopy companies and serves on the Canopy Investment committee as well as the NCIA Finance […]
True Leaf is a Licensed Producer of cannabis preparing to launch a program to provide seed-to-shelf solutions for micro-cultivators.
Chemesis International is a vertically integrated global leader in the cannabis industry, currently operating within Puerto Rico, and California.
Network Partners
About CFN Media Group
CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN) owns and operates CFN Media Group, the premier agency and financial media network reaching executives, entrepreneurs and consumers worldwide. Through its proprietary content creation, video library, and distribution via www.CannabisFN.com, CFN has built an extensive database of cannabis interest, assisting many of the world’s largest cannabis firms and CBD brands to build awareness and thrive. For more information, please visit www.cfnenterprisesinc.com.
Disclaimer: Matters discussed on this website contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may from time-to-time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and will increase or decrease such positions without notice. The Information contains forward-looking statements, i.e. statements or discussions that constitute predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, estimates, or projections as indicated by such words as "expects", "will", "anticipates", and "estimates"; therefore, you should proceed with extreme caution in relying upon such statements and conduct a full investigation of the Information and the Profiled Issuer as well as any such forward-looking statements. Any forward looking statements we make in the Information are limited to the time period in which they are made, and we do not undertake to update forward looking statements that may change at any time; The Information is presented only as a brief "snapshot" of the Profiled Issuer and should only be used, at most, and if at all, as a starting point for you to conduct a thorough investigation of the Profiled Issuer and its securities and to consult your financial, legal or other adviser(s) and avail yourself of the filings and information that may be accessed at www.sec.gov, www.pinksheets.com, www.otcmarkets.com or other electronic sources, including: (a) reviewing SEC periodic reports (Forms 10-Q and 10-K), reports of material events (Form 8-K), insider reports (Forms 3, 4, 5 and Schedule 13D); (b) reviewing Information and Disclosure Statements and unaudited financial reports filed with the Pink Sheets or www.otcmarkets.com; (c) obtaining and reviewing publicly available information contained in commonlyknown search engines such as Google; and (d) consulting investment guides at www.sec.gov and www.finra.com. You should always be cognizant that the Profiled Issuers may not be current in their reporting obligations with the SEC and OTCMarkets and/or have negative signs at www.otcmarkets.com (See section below titled "Risks Related to the Profiled Issuers, which provides additional information pertaining thereto). For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice and that of their own professional advisers. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may be compensated for its Services in the form of cash-based and/or equity-based compensation in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure, please visit: https://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/. A short time after we acquire the securities of the foregoing company, we may publish the (favorable) information about the issuer referenced above advising others, including you, to purchase; and while doing so, we may sell the securities we acquired. In addition, a third-party shareholder compensating us may sell his or her shares of the issuer while we are publishing favorable information about the issuer. Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and will increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice and that of their own professional advisers. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may be compensated for its Services in the form of cash-based and/or equity- based compensation in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit: https://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/.
Copyright © Accelerize Inc. · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Legal Disclaimer
