Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has introduced a bill that could have profound effects on the status of marijuana in the United States.
The bill, introduced on Wednesday, would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and allow states to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana use without federal intervention, per the Huffington Post.
“It's a state and a federal issue. The federal issue is that we should remove marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act. That's a federal decision,” Sanders said via CNN. “The state decision is that we live in a federal system of government where issues like tobacco and alcohol are significantly regulated by the states. And I think that is a province of the states.”
“The state wants to go forward, they should be able to go forward without legal impediments from the federal government, and that's what this legislation is about,” Sanders added.
The issue of legalizing marijuana has been a hotbed for debate over the past several years, and progress has been made on the state level regarding legalization. Currently, 23 states and the District of Colombia have legalized marijuana use in some form.
Sanders, who recently said he is open to legalizing marijuana and end the war on drugs, has maintained his support to leave the decision of legalizing up to the states, staking out a clear position on the issue while candidates such as Hilary Clinton have remained on the fence.
“Colorado wants to legalize marijuana, it's their decision. If Alabama does not want to legalize marijuana, that's their decision,” Sanders said. “But if a state wants to go forward, it should be able to do so without impediments from the federal government, which now prevent stores that sell marijuana from using banks, because that's in violation of federal law.”
The general public’s stance on marijuana has softened considerably in recent years, with a majority of Americans (58%) now in favor of legalization, via a recent Gallop poll.