Marijuana Legalization Bill Introduced in the U.S. Senate

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For quite some time, state after state has been legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana or allowing its use for medical purposes. To date, 26 states plus the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana in some form, with Florida, Arkansas and North Dakota joining the ranks of the states allowing medical marijuana just this year.

Unfortunately, there is just one problem. While more than half the states in the country see marijuana one way, the federal government still lists cannabis as a Schedule I narcotic under the federal Controlled Substances Act. This disconnect between the state and federal views on marijuana has managed to create problems with regard to state legalization efforts. This is because, while state law may allow and highly regulate the growing, distribution and the transportation of marijuana within the state, transportation across state lines creates a federal problem. For example, the state of Kansas has been very vocal for years about the tendency for people to buy legal marijuana in Colorado and bring it into or through their state illegally.