cannabisnews.com: Frank Wants To Drop Federal Penalties for Pot Frank Wants To Drop Federal Penalties for Pot Posted by CN Staff on April 17, 2008 at 17:59:25 PT By Grant Welker, Herald News Staff Reporter Source: Herald News Fall River, MA -- If bills presented Thursday by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank pass, marijuana users would not face federal penalties and the government would allow states to administer their own drug laws on use of medicinal marijuana.The measures are not ways of encouraging marijuana use, Frank said. “But I do not believe that the federal government should treat adults who choose to smoke marijuana as criminals.” Federal officials prosecuting users of marijuana “is a waste of scarce resources better used for serious crimes,” Frank said in a statement. “Federal law enforcement is a serious business, and we should be concentrating our efforts in this regard on measures that truly protect the public.”The bill to remove federal penalties for personal use of marijuana was co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas congressman and former presidential candidate. The second bill, under which the federal government wouldn’t charge people who use pot for medical purposes, was also signed by Paul and Democrat and Republican representatives from California and New York.Because federal law overrides state laws, states that allow use of marijuana for approved medical purposes cannot implement those laws, Frank said.“When doctors recommend the use of marijuana for their patients and states are willing to permit it,” he continued, “I think it’s wrong for the federal government to subject either the doctors or the patients to criminal prosecution.”A dozen states, including California, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont, allow medicinal marijuana.There are no federal laws against drinking alcoholic beverages and generally none against the use of tobacco for adults, Frank said. "There is no rational argument for treating marijuana so differently.”Source: Herald News, The (Fall River, MA)Author: Grant Welker, Herald News Staff ReporterPublished: April 17, 2008Copyright: 2008 The Herald NewsContact: editor heraldnews.comWebsite: http://www.heraldnews.com/Related Articles:Frank Pushing Pot Reliefhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23807.shtmlBarney Frank: My Pot Bill Liveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23801.shtmlFrank Defends Proposal To Decriminalize Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23774.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by FoM on April 17, 2008 at 19:55:31 PT Related Article From Raw Story Congressman Introduces Bill To Decriminalize Personal Marijuana UsePublished: Thursday April 17, 2008Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) has made good on his promise to introduce what he called the "Make Room for the Serious Criminals Bill" on a March 21, 2008 appearance on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. Co-sponsoring the bill are Reps. Ron Paul (R-TX), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Sam Farr (D-CA).Text of Thursday's press release, from Rep. Frank's Congressional website, follows.http://www.house.gov/frank/marijuana041708.htmlComplete Article: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Congressman_introduces_bill_to_decriminalize_personal_0417.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on April 17, 2008 at 19:50:08 PT Related Article From CBS News Rep. Frank Introduces Marijuana Decriminalization BillBy Daniel W. ReillyApril 17, 2008 The Politico -- Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced a bill Thursday that would decriminalize the personal use of marijuana and legalize the use of medical marijuana in certain states. “I think it is poor law enforcement to keep on the books legislation that establishes as a crime something which in fact society does not seriously wish to prosecute,” Frank said in a statement. “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 a pre-emptive response to the bill’s critics, Frank said the bill is not an encouragement to use the drug, rather it is an attempt to increase regulation of the product and to channel law enforcement money into more effective areas. Marijuana law reform advocates praised Frank’s bill. Complete Article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/17/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4025727.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on April 17, 2008 at 19:41:21 PT Go Barney Frank! This is a Godsend! Now Let's Pass it!What was Arnold Smoking? What was Arnold Smoking? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment