House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D) says a Republican-led bill to punish states that legalize marijuana “has no chance” of being passed into law.
The Stop Pot Act was filed in September in the House of Representatives by North Carolina Representative Chuck Edwards, and it now has five sponsors, all Republican. The proposal would withhold federal funding from states and tribes that have legalized marijuana.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he opposes the measure, and believes “it has no chance” of becoming law.
Jeffries says he believes that most all Democrats oppose the effort, and there’s not near enough Republican support to allow it to pass the House.
Even if it were to pass the House, it’s extremely unlikely that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer would put the bill to a vote given he supports legalizing marijuana and has been pushing for a federal marijuana bank bill.
Specifically the Stop Pot Act would withhold 10% of federal highway funds from states and tribes that violate the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The CSA considers marijuana to be a schedule 1 substance designated for drugs that are considered dangerous, heavily addictive and have no medical value.
A measure to fully decriminalize marijuana and remove it as a controlled substance was filed earlier this year, and currently has 69 sponsors. In the US Senate, a federal marijuana banking bill is sponsored by 34% of the entire Senate.
According to two separate polls released earlier this year, 64% of adults in the United States support marijuana being legalized for recreational use.
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