Majority of Americans Now Support Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana like Alcohol
Senator John McCain: “I Respect the Will of the People”
By Steve Elliott
Hemp News
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, September 10, will hold the first-ever Senate hearing on the issue of marijuana legalization and the tension between state and federal marijuana laws.
Colorado and Washington last November became the first political jurisdictions in the world to approve the legal regulation of marijuana. Twenty states and the District of Columbia have also approved the medical use of marijuana.
The witnesses at Tuesday's hearing will include Jack Finlaw, chief legal counsel to Colorado’s Governor John Hickenlooper, and the Honorable John Urquhart, Sheriff of King County in Seattle, an outspoken proponent of marijuana law reform.
Witnesses are expected to testify regarding the unnecessary challenges placed on regulators and law enforcers by lack of access to banking services and the resulting cash-based business structure.
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET in the Hart Senate Office Building, Room 216.
On August 29, the Department of Justice issued a directive to federal prosecutors instructing them not to interfere with state marijuana laws – as long as a number of stipulations are adhered to, such as preventing distribution to minors.
