The National Conference of State Legislatures, a nonpartisan organization that represents state legislatures across the country, demanded that Congress revise federal law and cede hemp and marijuana regulation powers to states.
The Conference, which met in Seattle this week, approved the following policy statement Thursday:
“[T]he National Conference of State Legislatures believes that federal laws, including the Controlled Substances Act, should be amended to explicitly allow states to set their own marijuana and hemp policies without federal interference and urges the administration not to undermine state marijuana and hemp policies.”
The statement also acknowledges that “members have differing views on how to treat marijuana and hemp in their states and believes that states and localities should be able to set whatever marijuana and hemp policies work best to improve the public safety, health, and economic development of their communities.”
State Rep. Renny Cushing (D-N.H.), who sponsored the measure, said that “voters have stimulated conversation among state legislators and state legislators in response are calling on the federal government not to be an impediment.”
“[The resolution] means the states are no longer going to be willing participants in the war on drugs,” he said.
Source:
Photo Credit: Texas State Library and Archives Commission