The momentum nationally for sensible marijuana reform is moving at such a rapid pace, that it is almost too hard to keep up. Following a few successful votes in the United States House, the Senate has followed suit and passed an amendment prohibiting the DEA from using any federal funds to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. From The Hill:
The pot amendment introduced by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) effectively paves the way for the legalization of medical marijuana. While some states may still choose to prohibit the medicinal use of pot, the federal government would not be allowed to overrule states that allow it.
The Senate committee approved the amendment 20-10 on Thursday, just a week after Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) and Sam Farr (D-Calif.) pushed a similar measure through the House as part of a marijuana vote-a-rama.
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Last month, the same Senate committee voted to give veterans more access to medical marijuana as part of another funding bill, for the military. VA doctors would no longer be prohibited from prescribing pot to sick military veterans.
“We’re entering an era where marijuana reform is accepted as mainstream and not seen as controversial, and that’s exactly where we want to be,” said Tom Angell, chairman of the Marijuana Majority.
The cannabis community merely needs to keep doing what we are doing–progressing forward on state and local measures; contacting our federal representatives; and sharing the truth about cannabis and the harms of the Drug War. As we continue to do these things, we will see an end to federal marijuana prohibition within the next 5 to 10 years.
