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A lawmaker who helps to lead the Congressional Cannabis Caucus says there are “a lot” of fellow legislators on Capitol Hill who secretly smoke marijuana.
“I think there are a lot of people who smoke cannabis in Congress,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said on Wednesday.
She added, however, that legalization is an important policy issue that should appeal broadly beyond just those who consume marijuana.
“Advocacy for legalizing doesn’t necessarily mean that you are a user,” the congresswoman told TMZ. “So everybody can be an advocate for legalizing it, because we understand that it is not okay for us to spend the billions of dollars we do now on incarcerating people for smoking a joint.”
The TMZ reporter also asked Omar about the federal government’s recent move to reschedule marijuana, noting that she and President Donald Trump don’t often agree on policy issues.
“I think any step forward is a good step, but we need to go farther than where we are at right now,” she said.
“We’re excited that the fact that he is paying attention to this issue,” Omar said. “But it is time, like I said, for the federal government to fully legalize. We already have so many states that have already legalized, and I think it is just really important for the whole country to have cannabis be legal.”
As to whether Trump will ultimately come around to back broader marijuana legalization, the congresswoman said, “I am true to the belief that cannabis should be legal. I don’t know if he’s there yet, but I love to get him there.”
“We need to continue building the coalition. We need to continue to have people speak for the president. He has the power. Congress has the power, and it’s us to come together and get this done.”
Omar made the comments in an interview after speaking at a press conference with marijuana legalization advocates and other lawmakers who support reform.
At that event, the congresswoman said it’s “about damn time Congress caught up with where the American people are” on cannabis legalization.
“Millions of people across this country agree that cannabis should be legal. People understand that the old approach has failed. They understand that adults should not carry criminal records for possessing cannabis,” she said. “They understand that we should be investing in education and economic opportunity, not mass incarceration.”
But she also argued that “legalization alone is not enough.”
“If we legalize cannabis and simply allow large corporations to make huge profits while the very communities destroyed by the War on Drugs are left behind, then we have failed. Cannabis reform must be about justice and repair,” Omar said. “That means expunging the records of people arrested for nonviolent cannabis offenses. It means reinvesting in communities that were targeted for decades by discriminatory policies, and it means ensuring working class people small businesses and entrepreneurs have a real opportunity in participating in this new economy.”
Meanwhile in Congress, the House is expected to consider an amendment this week to let military veterans receive recommendations for medical marijuana through their doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies approved a bill last month containing provisions that would block federal officials from taking further steps to reschedule cannabis.
Separately, the House Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill and an attached report that expresses concerns about health risks from cannabis-derived products, while also encouraging research into the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics.
The full House also recently passed a Farm Bill with provisions aimed at aiding industrial hemp producers—but without any language to delay or alter the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products that’s scheduled to take effect later this year.
A new report from the Congressional Research Service details the scope and limitations of the federal marijuana rescheduling move.
Tom Angell is the editor of Marijuana Moment. A 25-year veteran in the cannabis and drug law reform movement, he covers the policy, politics, science and culture of marijuana, psychedelics and other substances. He previously reported for Forbes, Marijuana.com and MassRoots, and was given the Hunter S. Thompson Media Award by NORML and has been named Journalist of the Year by Americans for Safe Access. As an activist, Tom founded the nonprofit Marijuana Majority and handled media relations, campaigns and lobbying for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
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