It’s not very often that I agree with a Democrat, but last month Congressman Barney Frank (D-Ma) filed a bill that would change federal law to legalize the use of medical marijuana and effectively overturn a recent Supreme Court decision. Representative Frank proposed this bill because, even though eight sovereign states have passed laws legalizing the use of medical marijuana, the federal government continues to arrest and prosecute cancer, AIDS and glaucoma patients that use the drug.On April 3, Frank introduced H.R. 1344, the “States’ Right to Medical Marijuana Act. The bill would amend the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to allow physicians to recommend medical marijuana and allow patients to use it, without facing federal charges.
Like numerous other federal laws, the CSA violates the intent of the Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights in our Constitution, but then, that’s never stopped the federal government from infringing on the rights of sovereign states or individual citizens. So, in my opinion, maybe we need to remind both our judiciary and our federal legislators that we have a Bill of Rights and there are limits to federal powers.
According to Rep. Frank, “This bill offers an opportunity for my conservative colleagues to decide if they really want to be consistent on the question of state’s rights. or if they think the federal government should tell states what to do.”
H.R. 1344 would reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug under federal law, formally acknowledging the drug’s potential “medical utility”. It would also effectively overturn the May 14 Supreme Court decision, which upheld the fed.’s claim that there is no “medical necessity exemption” to federal drug laws. By changing the CSA, the bill would render the decision moot. Currently H.R. 1344 has nine co-sponsors.
Whether you agree or disagree with the use of medical marijuana, please support H.R. 1344 and send a message to Washington that the omnipotent federal government must obey the Constitution.
The decision to allow physicians to recommend medical marijuana and allow patients to use it should be made either our state capitals or in our ballot boxes, not in Washington. Please ask your Congressman to co-sponsor H.R.1344.