[Jolene Forman, staff attorney at the nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance] called the bill a “first step,” and noted, “This bipartisan proposal clears the way for states to develop their own marijuana policies without fear of federal intervention. This will give states more opportunity to restore communities that have borne the brunt of the drug war and mass criminalization.”
So far, 30 states, Washington, DC and the U.S. territories of Guam and Puerto Rico have enacted medical marijuana legislation, while estimates suggest that 63 million Americans reside in areas where anyone over 21 may now legally possess the plant.
