議員[巴爾尼直率]介紹票據decriminalize個人大麻用途

Rep. 巴爾尼直率(D-MA)在他的諾言在2008年3月21日成功介紹什麼他稱「讓路給嚴肅的罪犯比爾」 出現 在HBO 真正的時間與比爾Maher。 共同贊助票據是Reps。 Ron保羅(R-TX)， Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)， Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)和山姆Farr (D-CA)。

星期四的文本 新聞發布從Rep。 坦率的國會網站，跟隨。

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議員，第4個區，馬薩諸塞2252 Rayburn大廈 · 華盛頓特區， 20515 · (202) 225-5931

2008年4月17日

直率在個人大麻用途介紹立法去除聯邦懲罰

議員在選擇允許它與Recommendation醫生的狀態並且歸檔比爾允許對大麻的醫療用途

議員巴爾尼直率今天介紹了瞄準的兩黨立法去除對對大麻的單獨用途的聯邦制約。 一張票據將去除聯邦懲罰為對大麻的個人使用，并且其他-版本，其中直率在國會上幾個在先的會議歸檔了-在選擇使它的用途為醫療目的合法以醫生的推薦的狀態將允許對大麻的醫療用途。 代表性Ron保羅(R-TX)加入了直率，聯邦懲罰票據的共同贊助。 共同贊助醫療大麻票據是Rep。 保羅，與Reps一起。 Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)， Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)和山姆Farr (D-CA)。

議員直率發表了解釋立法的以下聲明。

「我認為它是濟貧法執行保持在建立作為罪行某事社會不嚴重實際上希望檢控的書立法。 In my view, having federal law enforcement agents engaged in the prosecution of people who are personally using marijuana is a waste of scarce resources better used for serious crimes. In fact, this type of prosecution often meets with public disapproval. The most frequent recent examples have been federal prosecutions of individuals using marijuana for medical purposes in states that have voted – usually by public referenda – to allow such use. Because current federal law has been interpreted as superseding state law in this area, most states that have made medical use of marijuana legal have been unable to actually implement their laws.

“When doctors recommend the use of marijuana for their patients and states are willing to permit it, I think it’s wrong for the federal government to subject either the doctors or the patients to criminal prosecution. More broadly speaking, the norm in America is for the states to decide whether particular behaviors should be made criminal. To make the smoking of marijuana, whether for medical purposes or not, one of those extremely rare instances of federal crime – literally, to make a ‘federal case’ out of it – is wholly disproportionate to the activity involved. We do not have federal criminal prohibitions against drinking alcoholic beverages, and there are generally no criminal penalties for the use of tobacco at the state and federal levels for adults. There is no rational argument for treating marijuana so differently from these other substances.”

To those who say that the government should not be encouraging the smoking of marijuana, my response is that I completely agree. But it is a great mistake to divide all human activity into two categories: those that are criminally prohibited, and those that are encouraged. In a free society, there must be a very considerable zone of activity between those two poles in which people are allowed to make their own choices as long as they are not impinging on the rights, freedom, or property of others. I believe it is important with regard to tobacco, marijuana and alcohol, among other things, that we strictly regulate the age at which people may use these substances. And, enforcement of age restrictions should be firm. But, criminalizing choices that adults make because we think they are unwise ones, when the choices involved have no negative effect on the rights of others, is not appropriate in a free society.”

“If the laws I am proposing pass, states will still be free to treat marijuana as they wish. But I do not believe that the federal government should treat adults who choose to smoke marijuana as criminals. Federal law enforcement is a serious business, and we should be concentrating our efforts in this regard on measures that truly protect the public.”

by RAW STORY Link to Article 4/17/2008

Who is Barney Frank? Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia, a link to the complete article can be found here.

Frank is one of the most liberal members of the House, and has been outspoken on many civil rights issues, including gay rights. In 1987, he spoke publicly about his homosexuality for the first time. He said in a 1996 interview: “I’m used to being in the minority. I’m a left-handed gay Jew. I’ve never felt, automatically, a member of any majority.”

Reprimand

In 1990, the House voted to reprimand Frank when it was revealed that Steve Gobie, a male escort whom Frank had befriended after hiring him through a personal advertisement, claimed to have conducted an escort service from Frank’s apartment when he was not at home. Frank had dismissed Gobie earlier that year and reported the incident to the House Ethics Committee after learning of Gobie’s activities. After an investigation, the House Ethics Committee found no evidence that Frank had known of or been involved in the alleged illegal activity.^[2] Regarding Gobie’s more scandalous claims the report by the Ethics Committee concluded, “In numerous instances where an assertion made by Mr. Gobie (either publicly or during his Committee deposition) was investigated for accuracy, the assertion was contradicted by third-party sworn testimony or other evidence of Mr. Gobie himself.”^[3

Also, a biography for Barney Frank can be found here>> Barney Frank bio.