Congressional Resolution Calls For Legalizing Marijuana And Overdose Prevention Sites As Part Of Gov

Congressional Resolution Calls For Legalizing Marijuana And Overdose Prevention Sites As Part Of Government’s ‘Moral Obligation’

By Kyle Jaeger June 19, 2023

More than a dozen congressional Democrats have filed a resolution to recognize the country’s “moral obligation to meet its foundational promise of guaranteed justice for all,” in part by legalizing marijuana and overdose prevention sites as well as expunging drug-related records.

The legislation, led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), proposes a number of reforms to address systemic issues like mass incarceration, racial discrimination, addiction and homelessness.

Cannabis isn’t the focus of the measure, but it’s included in a section calling for the decriminalization of “behavior and divert cases that do not require confinement” in order to reduce the country’s prison population.

Part of that effort should include “decriminalizing addiction, homelessness, poverty, HIV status, and disabilities, including mental health diagnosis, by legalizing marijuana and overdose prevention sites, declining to criminally prosecute low-level offenses such as loitering and theft of necessity goods, and expunging the records of individuals for all drug-related offenses.”

The resolution, which currently has 16 cosponsors in addition to Pressley, also points out that approximately 30 percent of the federal prisoners are serving drug-related sentences.