US Senate bill opens marijuana debate even further, Baker Institute expert says

EXPERT ALERT

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu

US Senate bill opens marijuana debate even further, Baker Institute expert says

HOUSTON – (March 10, 2015) – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators — Rand Paul, R-Ky., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. — introduced a Senate bill today that would legalize medical marijuana under federal law, another step toward the possible relaxation of once-strict policies on the drug. Even if the bill doesn’t pass, it opens the marijuana debate even further, according to a drug policy expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Credit: thinkstockphotos.com/Rice University

Katharine Neill, the Baker Institute’s Alfred C. Glassell III Postdoctoral Fellow in Drug Policy, said the bill would go a long way in changing the country’s policy toward marijuana. “The primary tenets of the bill — to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule II, to facilitate greater research into the medical qualities of the plant, to allow some marijuana to be transported across state lines, to ease banking restrictions on the marijuana industry and to allow Veterans Affairs doctors in medical marijuana states to recommend it to veterans — would expand access for patients and protect them from criminal sanctions, allow the medical marijuana industry to further develop and mature and increase our knowledge of the benefits — and drawbacks — of using marijuana for medical purposes,” she said.

Neill said the bill reflects public opinion, as a majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana for medical use. “By allowing for more research, it would also increase the role of science — as opposed to politics — in determining the proper regulation of marijuana,” she said.

The bill is likely to bring a mixture of support and opposition from the Republican Party, Neill said. “While some Republicans have come out in favor of marijuana reform as a way to save money and to preserve personal liberty, others remain opposed to anything short of prohibition,” she said. “States’ rights advocates should support this bill as an opportunity to allow states to make their own policy decisions without fear of federal repercussions. But the House Republicans’ recent attempts to block implementation of the law legalizing recreational marijuana use in Washington, D.C., suggest they are unlikely to support the Senate bill. It is also safe to say that elected officials will be hearing a good deal of opposition from agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Agency and some law enforcement lobbying groups.”

Neill said that even if the bill doesn’t pass, it opens the marijuana debate even further. “To date, nearly all marijuana policy movement has occurred in the states, save for the recent provision that the Department of Justice not use funds to pursue medical marijuana cases in states where it is legal,” she said. “Now that Congress is at least considering this substantial change to federal marijuana policy, it may encourage states to do the same.”

To interview Neill, contact Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

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Follow the Baker Institute Drug Policy Program via Twitter @BakerDrugPolicy.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Related materials:

Neill biography: http://bakerinstitute.org/experts/katharine-neill.

Baker Institute Drug Policy Program: http://bakerinstitute.org/drug-policy-program.

Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top 10 university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.