Frank-Paul cannabis bill seeks legalization

Legalizing marijuana is a notion that won't soon go away. Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Ron Paul (R-Texas) have introduced new bi-partisan legislation that, if put into law, can finish the federal battle against the plant. According to Reason, states will then be able to decide by themselves how to deal with cannabis, which includes the best way to secure tax profits. Source of article - Frank-Paul pot bill seeks to legalize marijuana by Newsytype.com.

Allowing states to legalize marijuana

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) are all the co-sponsors of the Frank-Paul weed bill according to an email sent from the Editor of the Cannabis Policy Project Informed Reason, Mike Riggs. With marijuana regulation, there will only be one thing the federal government still controls. That would be the inter-state smuggling or cross-border smuggling occurring. The bill will allow states to decide for them if it is okay to sell, grow and use weed. It will still have to be passed in the states though.

Many think the bill will go over well

Morgan Fox, the communications manager for the Marijuana Policy Project, believes the new Frank-Paul bill - which echoes reforms Frank sought in 2009 with a similar bill entitled HR 5843 - will attract some attention.

It's definitely going to get a serious debate, probably more in the media than on the floor of the House," wrote Fox. "But I think it needs to be debated on the floor.

The bill has more momentum. It could likely pass, according to Fox. A recent deluge of op-ed pieces attacking the "failed United States drug war" should put wind in the sails of the decriminalization of marijuana bill. During the 2008 campaign, Ron Paul became very popular with the media and gained several followers. His support of the bill will even help it out.

Getting cash from taxes

Since Frank's introduction of HR 5843 two years ago, there have been several states have moved forward and legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, which includes Arizona and Washington, D.C. Connecticut has also pursued decriminalization.

The campaign to legalize weed for anybody older than 21 in Washington State is something Rick Steeves, from Edmonds, Washington, and who's a television travel guide, and U.S. Attorney John McKay and Seattle Attorney Pete Holmes have all teamed up to do. The state could make $215 million a year with the taxation and regulation in Washington State which the State Liquor Control Board would control.

The drugs Barney Frank has

Citations

Edmonds Patch

edmonds.patch.com/articles/rick-steves-and-former-us-attorney-lead-effort-to-legalize-pot

H.R. 5843

govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-5843

Huffington Post

huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/22/marijuana-bill-barney-frank-ron-paul_n_882707.html

Marijuana Policy Project

mpp.org/

Reason

reason.com/blog/2011/06/22/barney-frank-and-ron-paul-will