U.S. Senator to re-introduce marijuana legalization bill

Several U.S. Senators have signed onto a new bill called The Marijuana Justice Act that would legalize marijuana at the federal level and expunge the records of those who have previously been convicted of cannabis use or possession. Introduced by Senator Cory Booker, the bill has sponsoring senators are among incoming Democratic presidential candidates including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand and Michael Bennet. While announcing this bill last week officials say the "war on drugs" has negatively and disproportionately effected people of color and low income people who would otherwise never have been introduced to the justice system. Marijuana legalization will likely be a major issue for the incoming 2020 election and more candidates than ever will be in support.

“The War on Drugs has not been a war on drugs, it’s been a war on people, and disproportionately people of color and low-income individuals,” Booker said in a statement announcing the bill. “The Marijuana Justice Act seeks to reverse decades of this unfair, unjust, and failed policy by removing marijuana from the list of controlled substances and making it legal at the federal level.”