U.S. Senator introduces bill to legalize cannabis nationwide

Democratic U.S. Senator Cory Booker testified on Tuesday before the Senate... a proposed law to end cannabis prohibition at federal level, and encourage US states to legalize cannabis.

The new law would amend the Controlled Substance Act which governs the status of cannabis and would remove it from the US drug classification system. The result: the decriminalization of cannabis at federal level.

It would also encourage states to legalize cannabis if their current laws resulted in a «disproportionate arrest rate» of minorities or low-income people. A 2015 report estimated that a black American was 4 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than a white person, but only 1.3 times more likely to use it.

«Our drug laws are dangerously broken and need fixing,» said Booker. «They are not making our communities safer.».

If the Attorney General, in coordination with the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (Bureau of Justice Assistance), determined that a state's laws were penalizing and disproportionate, the state would no longer be eligible for federal funding dedicated to prison construction or employment.

Booker also said that the sentences of people currently in prison for minor drug offenses should be retroactively overturned, a «necessary step to correct this unfair system».

«The states have so far led the way in reforming our legal system, and it's time for the federal government to catch up and start defending its leadership« .

Booker is also proposing the creation of a «community reinvestment fund» for vocational training, rehabilitation and community centers.

The bill has no chance of passing through the Republican-controlled Congress. But it does demonstrate the change in mentality brought about by the legalization of cannabis in american states in recent years. At the beginning of 2012, no state had legalized cannabis. Today, 9 states, including the California.

In 2015, Bernie Sanders had already tried to pass a similar law, but had not found a co-sponsor.

Although legalization isn't all the rage in Washington, the latest Gallup poll (2016) shows that 60% of Americans are in favor of legalizing cannabis in the United States.