One of Congress’s most ardent supporters of the so-called “war on drugs” surprised many medical cannabis supporters by adding his name to a comprehensive reform bill on Monday.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who has long championed harsh drug penalties and opposed efforts to reform marijuana laws, signed on as a co-sponsor of the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States Act of 2015.

The legislation, known as the CARERS Act, would reschedule marijuana, allow banks to provide financial services to state-legal cannabis businesses, lift restrictions on marijuana research, permit the interstate importation of CBD-rich cannabis preparations and grant V.A. doctors the ability to recommend medical marijuana to military veterans, among other changes.

The bill now 15 has senators on board, including two Republicans.

Schumer’s support for medical marijuana comes in contrast to decades of work on Capitol Hill to ramp up drug penalties and oppose reforms.

“The fact that tough-on-crime Democrat such as Senator Schumer has become a cosponsor of the CARERS Act shows how truly mainstream the issue of medical marijuana is today,” Mike Liszewski, director of government affairs for Americans for Safe Access, told Marijuana.com. He added that support from Schumer, who is the third-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate and is widely expected to take over as minority leader when Harry Reid retires at the end of the current Congressional session, “shows that the CARERS Act is viable and on the minds of leadership.”

While this is the first time Schumer has cosponsored legislation to reform marijuana laws, he has given indications over the past year that his position is evolving.

In an interview with MSNBC last January, he said it is a “good idea” to let states move ahead with implementing legalization without federal interference. “We now have the states as laboratories, different states …read more

Source:: Weed Feed