US Rep. Barney Frank Files Legislation To Decriminalize Marijuana

Congressman Barney Frank, representing the 4th district of Massachusetts, plans to file legislation this week that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of Marijuana on the national level. Frank, who filed a bill to decriminalize marijuana as a member of the Massachusetts legislature, believes that the Federal Government unfairly targets medical marijuana patients in California, and believes that drug laws should be left up to the states. Frank also asserts that the public doesnot generally support the current marijuana laws and that the federal government should not have a law in the books which doesn’t make sense to most of the public.


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This bill comes at a cruicial crossroads for the legalization movement, with the effort to decriminalize marijuana at the strongest it has been in decades. About a month ago, the American College of Physicians officially backed medical marijuana and told the government to stop prosecuting users of medical marijuana. New Hampshire, Alaska and Illinois are all hearing arguments on new legislation regarding marijuana laws and there are 12 states that have already decriminalized possession. Barney Frank was quoted by the associated press as saying, "Do you really think people should be prosecuted for smoking marijuana? I don’t think most people agree with that. It’s one area where the public is ahead of the elected officials.”