Sen. Cory Booker Kicks Off Effort To Decriminalize Marijuana Nationwide
LINDEN, NJ (CBS) -- New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker took the wraps off his proposal to decriminalize marijuana nationwide at a North Jersey rally.
Booker joined a few dozen supporters of his Marijuana Justice Act.
"It seeks to not only deschedule marijuana on the federal level, making marijuana a legal substance, but it also does more than that," he told KYW Newsradio. "It deals with the failed policies that disproportionately, unfairly have impacted low-end communities and communities of color."
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The measure would also clear federal criminal records of marijuana offenses and allow those doing time to request a resentencing hearing. Booker says he hasn't lobbied his colleagues on Capitol Hill yet, but expects a battle with the Trump administration.
"There must be a response to Donald Trump putting in Attorney General Jeff Sessions who has decided not only to continue federal law but to actually double down on it," Booker added.
Supporters of the proposal echoed the senator's belief that it's time for marijuana to be regulated and taxed, just like alcohol. This measure doesn't go that far, but getting it through Congress and signed by the President won't be easy.
Shortly before the senator arrived at Linden City Hall, there was a disturbance on the street involving a man who was arrested after a vial of marijuana broke on the pavement.
The unidentified man was handcuffed as he became visibly agitated and cursed at officers. Onlookers, many of whom videoed the incident, insisted the man was a medical marijuana patient. Medical marijuana is legal within New Jersey.
Police took the man away in an ambulance. Officers say he was issued a citation for disorderly conduct and released.