Marijuana Is Not A Federal Job

Marijuana is not a Federal job says Barney Frank and Ron Paul. Pot prohibition, like alcohol prohibition, is a job for the States.

Marijuana laws should be set at the state, not federal, level, Reps. Ron Paul and Barney Frank argued in a bill they introduced Thursday.

The goal of the bill, HR 2306, is not to legalize marijuana but to remove it from the list of federally controlled substances while allowing states to decide how they will regulate it.

"I do not advocate urging people to smoke marijuana. Neither do I urge them to drink alcoholic beverages or smoke tobacco," said Frank (D-Mass.). "But in none of these cases do I think prohibition enforced by criminal sanctions is good public policy.

"Criminally prosecuting adults for making the choice to smoke marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources and an intrusion on personal freedom," he added.

My sources tell me that the aids to Republican Congress Critters are generally in favor of the bill and similar efforts. The Critters? Not so much. That will change in time.