| The "Make Room for Serious Criminals" Bill |
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| Written by Brenda Shoop | |
| Sunday, 23 March 2008 | |
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Source: Associated Press Boston, MA -- Rep. Barney Frank is defending a bill he plans to file  this week decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana, saying the federal law unfairly targets those using medical marijuana in California.Frank, who filed a bill to decriminalize marijuana as a member of the Massachusetts Legislature in the 1970s, said the decision whether to make possession of the drug illegal should be left up to the states. He also said the federal government shouldn't have a law on the books that is rarely enforced and which doesn't make sense to large portions of the public. "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," Frank said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It does not appear to me to be a law that society is serious about." Frank said he was particularly troubled by federal law enforcement agencies targeting those using marijuana as a legal medical treatment under California law. "I don't think smoking marijuana should be a federal case," he said. "There's no federal law against mugging." View Video report here>> Related Article from the Newshawk BOSTON -- Representative Barney Frank says he's going to file a bill when Congress is back in session to legalize "small amounts" of marijuana. Frank made the announcement late Friday on the HBO show "Real Time," hosted by Bill Maher. He told Maher his bill would remove all federal penalties for the possession or use of small amounts of marijuana, but he didn't define "small amounts." Frank said it's time for politicians to catch up with the public. He said locking people up for smoking marijuana is "pretty silly." Frank said he'd filed a similar bill in the Massachusetts state legislature in the 1970s. He said he'd call the federal legislation the "Make Room for Serious Criminals" bill. Newshawk: news as printed - the no spin zone www.mapinc.org Pubdate: Sun, 23 Mar 2008 Source: Times Argus (Barre, VT) Copyright: 2008 Times Argus Here is a video of Representative Frank talking about personal freedoms. The context of the speech is a gambling law, but the same principles apply to drug use. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 March 2008 ) |
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