3 Senate Democrats draft plan to end federal ban on marijuana

Three top Senate Democrats have a draft plan to end the federal ban on cannabis and implement a series of programs to help communities that have been harmed by the war on drugs, which have disproportionately tended to be communities of color.  

Senators Chuck Schumer, the majority leader; Ron Wyden of Oregon and Cory Booker of New Jersey announced the reforms early Tuesday. The reforms come as the public has increasingly supported marijuana legalization over the past few years.  Under their plan, states would be able to write their own cannabis laws and marijuana would be eliminated from the federal list of controlled substances within 60 days of implementation. The bill would shift the regulatory jurisdiction from the Drug Enforcement Agency to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, the Food and Drug Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.