Draft law on the legalization of marijuana supported by Democratic presidential candidates for 2020: NPR

The New Jersey Senator, Cory Booker, one of half a dozen Democratic Senators who show up at the White House, once again presents a bill to fundamentally put an end to the bill. Federal ban on marijuana.

The Marijuana Justice Act, introduced by Booker in August 2017, seeks to legalize marijuana at the federal level by removing it from the list of controlled substances, while removing the convictions of former drug offenders. income and minority groups particularly affected by the federal government's war on drugs.

Some other presidential candidates are co-sponsors of the legislation, including Sense. Kirsten Gillibrand, DN.Y., Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., And Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., As well as Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, who is considering an offer.

The two main senators in the Midwest are not co-sponsors: Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Also a presidential candidate, and Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who is considering a bid for 2020.

Ten states plus Washington, DC, have legalized a certain amount of marijuana for recreational purposes, and 33 states plus DC authorize marijuana for medical purposes.

Last year, Warren introduced a bipartisan bill to Senator Cory Gardner, R-Colo, to prevent the federal ban on marijuana from being applied to states that had already legalized it. But Booker's legislation, which she supports, is a more radical change.

The bill is retroactive and would apply to people who are currently serving sentences for marijuana offenses.

The support given to Booker's proposal by other Democrat senators who are fighting over the White House is a testament to the considerable evolution of the party in recent years and the extent to which candidates feel they need to strengthen their progressive credentials in a field. democratic overcrowded.

This is also an indication of the general appetite for progressive policies in the 2020 Democratic primary race.

Sanders reintroduced the law on wage increases last month, which would raise the federal minimum wage from $ 7.25 to $ 15 at the hour. He was co-sponsored by almost all the Democratic senators who were considering running for president: Booker, Brown, Gillibrand, Harris, Klobuchar, Merkley and Warren.

Similarly, Booker, Gillibrand, Harris, Merkley and Warren co-sponsored Sanders' 2017 bill entitled Medicare-for-all.