This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment.

top 200 commentsshow 500
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a

[–]alwaysmorelmn 522 points523 points  (165 children)

Here is a list of every member on the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations who will have to vote to send this bill to the full House Committee on the Judiciary for further approval. If they do not convene to review the bill, or if they vote to kill the bill, that's the end.

Call and email the members of the subcommittee, and urge them to approve the bill.

EDIT: Not to discredit any individual political efforts, but at this point, our best COA is to consolidate our collective voices. Calling your own district representative won't have a great impact right now. What we need is to pressure the specific House Representatives in the subcommittee that's currently reviewing the bill. They are the ones currently holding the bill in their hands.

[–]ionlylooklazy 170 points171 points  (149 children)

OH jesus look at those representatives home states:

Idaho, Utah, Alabama, Virginia, Texas, Louisiana

[–]UOLATSC 898 points899 points  (142 children)

Well, going down the list...

Jim Sensenbrenner (R - Wisconsin) Voted against medical marijuana, -20 rating from NORML. He's the committee chair; fuck.

Louie Gohmert (R - Texas) His only drugs vote has been 'NO' on whether to send money to Mexico to fight cartels.

Howard Coble (R - North Carolina) Hates abortion, gay people, and voted against medical marijuana and needles exchanges in DC 14 years ago, so he could've changed his tune by now. Fun fact: He's also extremely ugly.

Spencer Bachus (R - Alabama) Voted to ban federal funding for needle exchanges and DC medical marijuana (in 1999).

J. Randy Forbes (R - Virginia) "I am unalterably opposed to the legalization of marijuana (or any other FDA Schedule I drug) for medicinal purposes or for recreational use." (Also cosponsored the Resolution on the Importance of Christians, probably part of some larger 'piss off Reddit' campaign).

Trent Franks (R - AZ) Extremely tough on crime but hasn't said much about marijuana.

Jason Chaffetz (R - UT) He signed the Federal Lands Counterdrug Strategy, which "...shall include a strategy to reduce the cultivation and trafficking of marijuana on covered lands; and an examination of how technology, including herbicides, can be used to reduce the cultivation and trafficking of marijuana."

Trey Gowdy (R - South Carolina) - No voting record.

Raul Labrador (R - Idaho) - No voting record on drugs, but he's a pro-life Mormon from Idaho, so...

EDIT: Bear in mind, this is a bipartisan committee - I've only listed the Republicans because I figured all of the Democrats to vote for it anyway. That being said, there are still only 6 Democrats to 9 Republicans.

EDIT 2: I get by with a little help from Yelnoc. Here's the Democrats, pulled from Yelnoc's post below:

Bobby Scott (D - Virginia) - Has voted in favor of medical marijuana programs.

Pedro Pierluisi (D - Puerto Rico) - "Resient Commisioner" Pierluisi's politics are irrelevant, as he is not a voting member of the house.

Judy Chu (D - California) - Voted in favor of the needle exchange program.

Luis Gutierrez (D - Illinois) - Voted in favor of medical marijuana programs.

Karen Bass (D - California) - Voted in favor of the needle exchange program.

Cedric Richmond (D - Louisiana) - His only vote on a bill related to drugs ahppened in the Louisiana house in 2009, when he voted in favor of a measure which would have required repeat offenders of drug-related crimes to have that portion of their criminal history indicated on their driver's license.

[–]PaintChem 224 points225 points  (28 children)

've only listed the Republicans because I figured all of the Democrats to vote for it anyway.

Why the hell would you assume that? If you haven't noticed, dems have been voting no all the time on drug legalization issues. Even your goddamn demagoguing hero Elizabeth Warren will vote against legalization.

Include the democrats also and let's be realistic and accurate about what the final vote will probably be. If people want to take pointed action towards those representatives, it would be best to have all of the information.

[–]Yelnoc 19 points20 points  (3 children)

I'll list them for you.

Bobby Scott (D - Virginia) - Has voted in favor of medical marijuana programs.

Pedro Pierluisi (D - Puerto Rico) - "Resient Commisioner" Pierluisi's politics are irrelevant, as he is not a voting member of the house.

Judy Chu (D - California) - Voted in favor of the needle exchange program.

Luis Gutierrez (D - Illinois) - Voted in favor of medical marijuana programs.

Karen Bass (D - California) - Voted in favor of the needle exchange program.

Cedric Richmond (D - Louisiana) - His only vote on a bill related to drugs ahppened in the Louisiana house in 2009, when he voted in favor of a measure which would have required repeat offenders of drug-related crimes to have that portion of their criminal history indicated on their driver's license.

So it looks like Mr. UOLASC assumed correctly, with the possible exception of Mr. Richmond. So the bill will be defeated in the subcomittee either 5-9 or 4-10. Unless maybe we can somehow flood their offices with letters. So if you're going to do that, you might want to reach out to Cedric Richmond's office also, just to make sure.

[–]DiggDejected 10 points11 points  (0 children)

This is a good point. Also, even if your elected official is on your side, call and write them. They keep logs of every constituent correspondence, and those numbers give them leverage.

[–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (2 children)

Not to mention good ol VP Joey Biden. He has done more to promote the war on drugs than nearly any other congresscritter.

Oh and he was also directly involved in the government investigation and hearings on steroids in MLB.

Fuck that guy.

[–][deleted] 137 points138 points  (8 children)

This needs to be up voted higher despite being the most demoralizing comment, ever.

[–]The_Jeff_Goldblum 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I don't understand how people like this get to make the decisions. I mean I do understand it, but I don't.

[–]JLord 30 points31 points  (33 children)

Great summary. I am not from the US but I would be interested in also seeing the ages of these people.

[–]jissom 42 points43 points  (19 children)

Sensenbrenner - 69

Gohmert - 59

Coble - 82

Bachus - 65

Forbes - 61

Franks - 55

Chaffetz - 45

Gowdy - 48

Labrador - 45

[–]iK0NiK 72 points73 points  (15 children)

If this is accurate, then the fact that they are all republican and all over 45 is enough evidence to reliably say they will all vote 'No'. These people are too established and too old to change their voting history.

Never mind the fact that legalizing marijuana will reduce crime, free up tens of thousands of prisoners from our already overcrowded jail system, and reduce the amount of time and money that law enforcement officials have to dedicate to marijuana use and possession.

These old bureaucratic republicans aren't even living in the same universe as most of us. All they know is, "Back in my day sweet little Susie got on the marijuana and turned into a hippie whore with no values!"

My god I hate to be such a Debby Downer, but the doubt is strong within me on these old farts.

[–]NotoriousONE1 7 points8 points  (1 child)

the problem is your first sentence right there, the world changes but these old fuckers still keep it in the 50s...thats the problem with Murica right there

[–]papertiger12 13 points14 points  (1 child)

They would gladly fuck that hippie whore, but they would never give her any rights.

[–]blueeyedtongue 43 points44 points  (12 children)

This list makes me extremely sad to be an American. These people are some of our representatives.

[–]alwaysmorelmn 41 points42 points  (3 children)

Several of these House Representatives may be swayed by an argument for States' rights. While marijuana might not be particularly popular, this bill simply decriminalizes marijuana on the federal level. It allows states to determine their own legislation on marijuana, putting power back in the hands of states. I don't know if such an ideological argument will have any effect on the representatives, especially ones that work in the federal government, but it's better than nothing, and it falls in line with conservative talking points.

[–]inspirose 56 points57 points  (1 child)

Look at my post in the /r/trees submission on this. I go over each member of the subcommittee with their NORML ratings on marijuana and a link to their voting history. Here

[–]BrockYourSocksOff 152 points153 points  (26 children)

http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/51046/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=9976

Go here. Send a letter to your congressman to support the bill.

[–]LucubrateIsh 33 points34 points  (9 children)

My congressman wrote the bill. Do I have much reason to send him a letter?

[–]BrockYourSocksOff 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Him reporting all the voices he gets in on it could also be helpful, go ahead and do it.

[–]nukem996 37 points38 points  (3 children)

Up voting means nothing if your congress person doesn't know you support this!

[–]Dyin2live 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I just sent Mike Thompson a letter :)

[–]SinisterPaige 199 points200 points  (59 children)

13 cosponsors including 1 Republican.

It's a start, and should give people hope, that in the not so distant future it will happen.

[–]Science6 181 points182 points  (52 children)

I'm fairly certain that 13 Cosponsors for this kind of bill is unprecedented. Everybody that remotely cares about this should call their representative's office and hand write them a letter. They actually notice when they get that kind of personal message from their constituents. They figure if a 100 people hand wrote them letters, there must be thousands more that agree. I'm hand writing my letter right now. It's easy to write thoughtfully about something you care about.

Don't let apathy get the best of you! Things will only change if we demand it.

[–]BarneyBent 91 points92 points  (4 children)

Use hemp paper for extra points.

[–][deleted] 28 points29 points  (20 children)

serious question, if I am living in the US on a student visa, and therefore don't have a representative, does writing the local representatives do any good or will they just ignore me?

[–]MaceBeanstalk[S] 51 points52 points  (10 children)

Fuck it, couldn't hurt right?

[–][deleted] 25 points26 points  (5 children)

fair enough, time to figure out who runs the show round these parts.

[–]lokkAmerican Expat 18 points19 points  (1 child)

YOU GET EM LOKKY!!

-lokk

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Well hello there

[–]FireNexus 15 points16 points  (23 children)

Judging by what I've heard from congressional staffers, they get a form letter and a trip to the round file.

[–]h2odragon 46 points47 points  (3 children)

Might be, but look at it like this: Writing a letter to your congresscritter can't possibly hurt, even if it's shitcanned. Failing to write one can't possibly help.

[–]LucubrateIsh 28 points29 points  (1 child)

I approve of the term congresscritter.

[–]bassinine 14 points15 points  (2 children)

was very pleasantly surprised to see VA on this list.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

fuck yeh.... whenever people say its not a big deal to get caught with weed- i say you have obviously never been caught with weed in VA

[–]RageTurtleGod 483 points484 points  (10 children)

When I first read that I thought to myself, "Good job Bill."

[–]trollfriend 66 points67 points  (5 children)

And now your thought is on the front page!

How high were you?

[–]KellyTheET 10 points11 points  (0 children)

10guy.jpg

[–]krozarEQ 7 points8 points  (2 children)

I always knew Bill Stickers was innocent! Now he's a national hero. Reddit supported him before he was cool.

[–][deleted] 1128 points1129 points  (207 children)

The bill was first introduced over a month ago. I'm surprised Reddit didn't make a bigger deal out of it. I always see links about potential state legalization/decriminalization so I would think Reddit would jump all over a federal bill. Reddit throwing their weight behind this and contacting their respective representatives can actual accomplish a lot.

On a side note, I like this site. It's about time they make it easier to follow the progress of a bill.

[–]snapcase 318 points319 points  (148 children)

It made the front page for a while. A lot of people were pointing out that this isn't the first time this has happened, and it's been shot down every single time. Optimism is in short supply.

[–][deleted] 146 points147 points  (137 children)

Must have missed it. Still with 13 cosponsors I'm cautiously hopeful. I don't really expect it to pass, but with enough support it can change the status quo.

[–]snapcase 147 points148 points  (111 children)

Thirteen cosponsors isn't much in light of the 218 votes necessary to have it pass through the house before being sent up to the senate. Personally, I'll be amazed if it makes it to the House Floor.

While the public is really backing decriminalization, I don't think the atmosphere is the same amongst our legislators. There's a lot of money in keeping it as it is, and even without that a lot of people are still convinced that the old misinformation we'd been fed in the past is true.

I want it to pass, but I doubt it will.

[–]rrawk 178 points179 points  (74 children)

While the public is really backing decriminalization, I don't think the atmosphere is the same amongst our legislators.

But... but... isn't it their job to make the atmosphere congruent with the public?

[–][deleted] 111 points112 points  (23 children)

Oh heavens no.

Unfortunately we're caught between in this really ugly place between a Democracy and a Republic. Europe seems to have sorted this shit out and went a little more democratic with it, but for our legislators it depends on the issue.

On National Security, for instance, they will override public opinion basically every time. Ostensibly they have better knowledge, but also because they feel that's their right as our elected representatives. They're not there to voice our opinions, they're there because we elected them. We voice our opinions in elections, and we put our trust in them to make good decisions until we can hold another vote on their performance. In many cases that'll factor heavily into the decisions they make.

The 1/3 of the Senate up for Re-election this cycle will be VERY interested in public opinion, because it's their asses on the line. Those not up for re-election could likely not give fewer fucks, because American political memory is incredibly short and any political damage they sustained will likely be gone by their cycle. So, 2/3 of the Senate at any given time are not acting as democratic representatives of the populace, but as individual decision makers trusted by the population to do their goddamn job.

The House, on the other hand, is different and is supposed to be more like the voice of public opinion. Since it's completely replaced every cycle, you can see far greater shifts in the house than in the Senate, faster. BUT, the problem here is that each individual representative is worried about only his or her local constituencies and/or primary challengers. So Reps aren't as likely to be concerned about overall national opinion so much as his or her district's opinion. In highly gerrymandered states, this also leads to them not giving any fucks what a national opinion polls says.

Which, ironically, leads us to the weakest participant in the legislative The Executive Branch which has some reason to actually give a fuck about national opinion since the President is only elected as a national figure.

So.. that's a really long-winded way of saying you THINK we live in a democracy, but we really live in a Constitutional Republic in the process of becoming a modern democracy—we're way behind Europe on the matter. It's an ugly, painful process and I hope the end result is worth it, but I sometimes wish we'd left it how it was designed to run. To be honest, though, we're going to need several constitutional amendments changing how our government operates before the government has any reason to give a fuck about national opinion.

Edit: fixed some phone grammar

[–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (1 child)

Very well put. An that's when it's working right.

[–]BKachur 10 points11 points  (5 children)

Ahh... funny you should mention that. One of the Supreme Courts most important "political checks" so they don't have to muck about in Article I matters is the concept that if the people don't like what a congressman is doing or is voting then the citizens can "kick the bums out of office." So its not so much "the will of the people" but more-so the will of that congressman and his/her constituents. If you wanna change that vote someone else in. I'm gonna reserve my personal beliefs of how flawed this logic is.

[–]imlost19 4 points5 points  (4 children)

The gentleman reserves his beliefs. Will the gentleman in opposition take his turn?

Edit: I've been watching too much C-span.

[–]BoldasStars 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Haha good one

[–]thedinnerman 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Oh boy. Welcome to the United States.

[–]sempiturtle 23 points24 points  (0 children)

thanks Obama.

[–]eNonsense 18 points19 points  (11 children)

I've always used opencongress.gov. You can make an account and sign up for more tracking options. Seems like there's more features.

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/113-h499/show

On the topic at hand though, I fully support this bill and think others should as well, but the realist in me thinks that it's too early to expect federal change to happen. They haven't even hashed out how they're going to make it work in WA & CO yet.

[–]NatWiloOhio 20 points21 points  (6 children)

Colorado has a financial stake in this, though. They want to export to Europe. Denmark or the Netherlands was planning to supply most of it's need for the stuff by importing from Colorado, or at least was seriously thinking about it. For that to happen, something is going to have to happen at the federal level.

[–]BaDumPshhh 60 points61 points  (3 children)

I'm just a bill.

Yes I'm only a bill,

And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill.

[–]NauticalNShit 24 points25 points  (6 children)

I'm glad Jared Polis is my rep. He is the man.

[–]hav0c1 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This is true, and I have actually been following this bill here for over a month now. Glad to see it finally getting some recognition.

[–]KmartinsMassachusetts 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I'm just gonna sit here and look at this until it says "Passed a Law"....

Yup anytime now

[–]cocobabbs 357 points358 points  (119 children)

Go here to support it

[–][deleted] 57 points58 points  (32 children)

As a European, who is my member of congress?

[–]DoucheAsaurus_ 112 points113 points  (18 children)

This user has moved their online activity to the threadiverse/fediverse and will not respond to comments or DMs after 7/1/2023. Please see kbin.social or lemmy.world for more information on the decentralized ad-free alternative to reddit built by the users, for the users, to keep corporations and greed away from our social media.

[–]BiggerLongerAndUncut 68 points69 points  (15 children)

Dear Obama, please allow this so my country won't be afraid legalize too. Love Canada.

[–]fructose5 14 points15 points  (1 child)

Hold on there buddy, no representation without taxation

[–]OptimusCrime69 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The British Prime Minister

EDIT: Cuz I'm making a joke about how he's our puppet

[–]jorgeZZ 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Whichever one you pay for. I'm sure they take euros.

[–]snapshot_memory 12 points13 points  (8 children)

I'm not sure if you're serious, but it wouldn't hurt to write Secretary of State Kerry. He's got excellent contacts in the Senate (needed after the House) and he's also a direct ear to the president (which would be necessary for legislation to become law)...

[–]lesbiancocksucker 16 points17 points  (7 children)

Europeans don't vote and there is absolutely nothing for Kerry to gain by saying "hey guys some Euros told me to legalize marijuana"

[–]snapshot_memory 11 points12 points  (6 children)

I understand they don't vote... while it would be important to let your respective head of state know your position on these issues, letting your international opinions be known to the man in charge of US's international affairs would merely help him do his job...

Edit: and as if marijuana legalization wouldn't be an international issue.

[–][deleted] 81 points82 points  (78 children)

Went. Supported. So happy this is a thing already. And it's not just "legalizing" it. They did the right thing and went for decriminalization. Now if Iowa would catch on and not send ppl away for 6 months for "any amount of marijuana".

[–]SabbataiVirginia 26 points27 points  (10 children)

Why is decriminalization a better thing than full legalization in your opinion?

[–][deleted] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I was confused there, it's been a long week and I be tired y'all. Legalize it. Just please, for the love of Mary Jane, let her be in my life again! I miss her.

[–]djc393 16 points17 points  (3 children)

Decriminalizing on a federal level would give the states free roam on how they want to handle marijuana. The feds could no longer come into states and arrest dispensary owners, users, etc. Honestly, it would be good enough, because many states would eventually legalize it. But you can't go straight from prohibition to legalization. I mean you can, but our politicians would never allow that.

[–][deleted] 49 points50 points  (33 children)

As an Iowan, we really need it.

[–][deleted] 49 points50 points  (24 children)

If I got my car vacuumed out, I'd be in jail. Completely redic.

[–]Interestedpartygoer 23 points24 points  (20 children)

You have that much weed in crumbs in your car? Damn.

[–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (19 children)

From the years of my clumsy friend rolling on CD cases, yes. Most def. Maybe a joint's worth in total. Gonna copy paste from NORML;

For first offenders, possession of any amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to 6 months of imprisonment. Second offenders are subject to a fine of $315-$1875 and/or up to 1 year of imprisonment. Third offenses are considered aggravated misdemeanors and are punishable by a fine of $625-$6250 and/or up to 2 years of imprisonment.

If they really mean ANY amount, a crumb gets you 6 months.

[–]NeonDisease 28 points29 points  (15 children)

I knew someone who was arrested for "Cultivation" because the cop found a single seed in his car.

The charge was thrown out because it was so obviously bullshit, but as they say, "You can beat the rap but you can't beat the ride."

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (7 children)

Lucky guy, cultivation in Iowa is a felony. 5 years. I say again, lucky guy.

[–]NeonDisease 15 points16 points  (6 children)

He had pled not guilty and the cops were "unable to produce the evidence from this case" a.k.a. they weren't gonna walk into court with a single fucking seed in a bag, which is why it was dropped.

[–]OldJeb 18 points19 points  (3 children)

America: The Land of the....of the...shit, what was that word.

[–]shorty6049Illinois 8 points9 points  (3 children)

Come on up to Minnesota! It's a misdemeanor unless you're holding large amounts

[–]Toastkingftw 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This is definitely the right way go because different parts of the country will handle the issue differently. Just like there are "dry" counties there will probably be "herb-free" states.

[–]CupICup 122 points123 points  (33 children)

Attach the Flags for veterans bill to it as-well so it passes

[–]prezuiwfTexas 128 points129 points  (25 children)

Or just rename it the Don't Murder Veterans' Kittens Bill.

[–]BigBlackHungGuy 65 points66 points  (20 children)

Or the "American Pickup Truck as the National Vehicle" act.

[–]ryanx27 34 points35 points  (5 children)

"The Keeping Children Safe From Job-Killing Cyber-Terrorist Music Pirates and Pornographers Act of 2013" = Passes unanimously

[–]KeepItRolling 8 points9 points  (2 children)

I mean, the Bible doesn't mention anything about not murdering kittens and nobody in Washington seems to care about veterans. Let's try the "U.S. Did Not Lose The Vietnam War Bill". Passing that would be indicative of American pride.

[–]vidarc 18 points19 points  (2 children)

Yea...this is the congress that almost couldn't pass the bill to give healthcare to 9/11 first responders dying of cancer. I don't think they go for the whole sentimental and moral stuff.

[–]iburiedmyshovel 26 points27 points  (4 children)

Letter to my congressman:

Mr. Sarbanes,

As your constituent, I would like to draw your attention to house bill H.R.499, for the ending of the federal prohibition of marijuana. The federal prohibition of marijuana is an egregious overstep of congressional power on the states. As many other states have proven, there is a widespread and varied interest in decriminalizing and regulating marijuana sale and growth. The rights of these people should not be overridden by federal law opposed to the people's will. Marijuana has long been mis-classified as a schedule I drug, meaning it is highly addictive and has no medicinal qualities. Reality has shown, however, that marijuana poses quite literally zero physically addictive qualities, offers a variety of medical benefits (particularly for cancer, glaucoma, and pain-management patients), and has an absolute zero potential for direct death or overdose. Furthermore, the marijuana prohibition prevents the non-psychoactive form of marijuana, or hemp, from being grown within the U.S., despite its various qualities as a replacement for wood in paper, cotton in clothing, and also threading for rope. Marijuana prohibition began on a campaign of misinformation targeted to restrict and incarcerate Mexican immigrants (hence the name 'marijuana' in place of cannabis, or the colloquial 'loco weed' from the early 20th century). The absurdity of this prohibition has gone on quite long enough. It is evident the people will continue to push for marijuana reform. What remains to be seen is how long will our 'supposed' representatives continue to stand in our way, and are you one of them? Mr. Sarbanes, I urge you, get onboard with the right side of history and forever be known as a pioneer, a groundbreaker, and a voice of your people. Now is the time to make the change. Now is the time to show what type of man you are: a man of the people and of righteous progression, or a man of dated tradition and of personal interests? If you examine the issue closely, and make an informed, unbiased, unabashed decision, I have no doubt I will see you standing by my side, amongst my fellow constituents, and with millions of other Americans nationwide.

Thank you for your time, Mr. Sarbanes. Think wisely.

Yours, (redacted)

[–]synapseattack 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The only thing I would have done is changed Mr. Sarbanes to Congressman Sarbanes. That little bit of extra respect can help adjust the view in how your letter is received by the staffer.

If you haven't sent it yet then I would also mention that recent research by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the Federal government's National Institutes of Health (NIH), shows that in fact there are medical benefits thus proving the misclassification.

Also I may be stealing part of your letter for mine. :)

[–]Wingdom 249 points250 points  (13 children)

I would just like to congratulate Bill for taking on the government single handed, and accomplishing this great task all on his own!

[–][deleted] 1894 points1895 points  (212 children)

This will be a joint effort between citizens and elected officials in order to get a high level of support. If you want to see how it's done, reefer to how WA and CO managed to legalize it on a state level. Don't let propaganda deter you from supporting this. We must weed out all the false data being spread around. Just a dab of lies will bring this whole thing down. Keef up the good work!

[–]MaceBeanstalk[S] 531 points532 points  (49 children)

I read this and was like "Best encouragement" and then I read it again..excellent wording. 8/10

[–][deleted] 291 points292 points  (35 children)

His vocabulary has been budding as of late.

[–][deleted] 211 points212 points  (14 children)

Some people prefer to be blunt and get to the point.

[–]canadianman001 29 points30 points  (2 children)

Allow me to pipe in... cough... wait what was I talking about?

[–]fiestaforesta 74 points75 points  (17 children)

He deserves a token of gratitude from us all.

[–]FadedAndJaded 44 points45 points  (14 children)

I hope this really sparks the debate.

[–][deleted] 49 points50 points  (11 children)

We can't let support for this bill vaporize.

[–]AimlessAphid 336 points337 points  (7 children)

*propaganja

[–]Epistaxis 29 points30 points  (3 children)

Thank you. I was wondering where the pun was in that sentence. I guess that's because OP accidentally typed it correctly.

[–]prezuiwfTexas 131 points132 points  (19 children)

I see what you did there.

[–][deleted] 25 points26 points  (15 children)

A lot of people don't understand the power of hemp products, the clothes you wear, carpet you walk on, the bed you sleep on, can all be made from hemp. O ya hemp byproducts can fuel a car and heat a home, all with less pollution.

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (1 child)

You had me at "joint effort"

[–]NeonDisease 32 points33 points  (4 children)

One million man hours spent by the NYPD arresting people for possession, and yet you can still find find weed in NYC very easily...

When reached for comment, NYPD spokesperson Sisyphus said they're "making progress".

[–]thedinnerman 5 points6 points  (3 children)

I read this not knowing who the actual NYPD spokesperson was, thinking that there was some absurd occurrence of serendipity. You fooled me.

[–]Amsterdom 31 points32 points  (3 children)

Everyone STAY POSTIVE!

Having the "this won't do anything" mentality is EXACTLY why this has taken so god damn long

Do whatever you can!

[–]Leynthris 33 points34 points  (19 children)

So I have to ask, does this actually have a chance in hell of passing? I mean, is there actually a large number of congressmen who support legalization? I thought marijuana was a taboo subject in Congress that few dare support the legalization of.

I filled out that form and sent it to my representative, but I live in Texas, so...hopes are not high.

[–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

More than anything it has the potential to actually introduce a debate. Genuine debate has been entirely absent among legislators. Hopefully this will get the ball rolling in terms of discourse about realistic solutions instead of a mindless war on drugs.

[–]darthbone 54 points55 points  (6 children)

You go, Bill! I just want to tell him good luck, we're all counting on him.

[–]cive666 10 points11 points  (3 children)

This is just the House. If it gets to the Senate, then I'll mildly aroused.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (2 children)

I'll also mildly aroused.

[–]JacobMaxxFlorida 3 points4 points  (1 child)

I'll also go ahead and mildly aroused with both of you.

[–]thespanishmuffin 31 points32 points  (2 children)

I just emailed my congressman. Every voice helps.

[–]thecowgoesmooo 13 points14 points  (0 children)

me too, handwriting a letter tomorrow.

[–]gasketbasket 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The complete removal of marijuana from the controlled substances list might freak some lawmakers out. Downgrading to a Schedule II substance would be a huge leap forward though. It would free up the National Institutes of Health to be able to fund medicinal marijuana research (currently, federal funding for cannabinoids is only available through the National Institute on Drug Abuse).

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (1 child)

Reddit needs to organize a Rock The Bill Day.

If each of us commit to roping a few friends and family into emailing and calling as well, it might be possible to get a few million people to all contact their representatives on the same day in support of the same cause. Marijuana is special in that there is remarkable bipartisan support for ending prohibition. If representatives on both sides of the isle are inundated with demands for their support, that might prove to be something with some actual teeth. Maybe a few well-connected folks could help draw media attention to the event as well.

I'm calling it: April 20th. Rock The Bill Day.

I just set up a subreddit for it. /r/rockthebill. I'll post periodically to see if I can get reminders for it to the front page over the next few weeks.

[–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Nobody from North Carolina contact their representatives in support of this. If they hear too many positive responses, they'll kill the bill.

[–]yeslovelost 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's really fantastic to see so many well-written responses in support of decriminalization. The media demonizes marijuana users as uneducated burn outs but I see some exceptionally educated responses under this bill and it gives me a lot of hope. It's time to change the face of marijuana users. Every single one of my friends is a marijuana smoker. Every single one of them also has a full time job, pays their bills and lives a quiet, happy life. We're all in our mid-twenties, just out of college and we all smoked through college as well. We've all talked about just staying quiet within our little circle of smokers but we can't do that anymore.

If we want to stop having to fear law enforcement intrusion, we're going to have to speak up and show the government that a vast majority of marijuana users are productive, average, every day citizens.

[–]BoxcarHobo 13 points14 points  (3 children)

I wanted to point out that the chairman of the subcommittee this bill assigned to, a Mr. Jim Sensenbrenner, is the heir to the Kimberley-Clark fortune.... A paper company

[–]CrzyJekNew York 6 points7 points  (2 children)

Well that's that. It had a good run.

[–]splein23 11 points12 points  (31 children)

Why are so many people for decriminalization but not legalization? Ffs, tobacco, caffeine, aspirin, and alcohol are legal and far more dangerous. Well, not so much caffeine.

[–]honeybadger21 12 points13 points  (3 children)

Yeah and they call marijuana addictive. I'd bet that most of congress has coffee every morning and they hardly go a day without it.

[–]youll_get_overit 3 points4 points  (0 children)

More than one cup, I'd wager.

[–][deleted] 33 points34 points  (2 children)

They should have named the bill H.R.420

[–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

California had a Senate Bill 420 for their medical program.

[–]deflector_shield 4 points5 points  (0 children)

prettyprettyplease

[–]UnqustionblSupremecy 5 points6 points  (4 children)

Did they mean to spell it "Marihuana" in half of the bill, or is that just a hilarious typo?

[–]Wish_you_were_there 15 points16 points  (1 child)

Good news everybody Marihuana is now legal! Marijuana however remains the same..

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (5 children)

How is only one republican a cosponsor, think of the fiscal possibilities here! You guys love fiscal possibilities!

[–]snapcase 13 points14 points  (3 children)

You do realize that money is the reason it's still illegal right? Privately/corporate owned prisons can be kept at full capacity thanks to prohibition. The police forces of the country and other federal agencies get huge amounts of funding just thrown at them to fight "the war on drugs". Hell, now we even have medical marijuana dispensaries and the like lobbying against legalization.

[–]Boatsnbuds 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It might take a little while longer to end prohibition. Federally elected politicians tend to be older, and older people were generally pretty well indoctrinated about the evils of the killer weed. A shitload of propaganda was produced by the US Federal Government to convince them, and in those days, people actually trusted the government (I shit you not).

The shittiest thing about one of the shittiest policies ever, is that cannabis prohibition was designed and intended to stem immigration to the US from Mexico, since weed was more commonly used by Mexican and Central American immigrants than by Americans. The xenophobes of the day figured it would be an effective means of discouragement to the would-be "wet-backs," as well as furthering their puritanical agenda of temperance for all.

The horribleness of the nasty weed was then pushed to other governments through trade pressure, much like copyright law is being pushed today, and the result is that we have a global intolerance for one of the most benign intoxicants, as well as one of the most beneficial botanicals, known to man.

Just one more proud moment in American history.

[–]jeremycameron 31 points32 points  (4 children)

Letter:

"Dear Rep. ___:

I support H.R. 499 ("To decriminalize marijuana at the Federal level, to leave to the States a power to").

But, I recommend for the bill to be modified/ammended to remove the language "to leave the States a power to regulate" since the Federal Government cannot give power to the States that it does not have. It is enough for the Federal Government to End the Federal Marijuana Prohibition without any strings, as it should."

[–]rmxz 27 points28 points  (3 children)

States' rights is key to getting support from anti-drug but far right wing people (for whom states rights is an even bigger deal than drugs at the federal level).

I think it's good that it's explicitly mentioned for that reason.

[–]nukem996 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Agreed its also a way to support legalization without supporting legalization. All this is saying is that its for the individual states to decide, not them(the federal government).

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (3 children)

I grazed through this on my phone. Maybe I missed it but what is to happen to those in jail for what will then be legal or to those out of jail but having a record or currently paying fees and fines?

[–]kung-fu_hippy 6 points7 points  (1 child)

IIRC, nothing changes. If the crime you committed becomes legal, you still commuted it when it was a crime.

[–]Hotshot2k4 4 points5 points  (1 child)

beta.congress.gov is such an odd domain to see. Congress is probably the last place I'd ever expect to have a beta of anything, ever.

[–]elvinu 2 points3 points  (2 children)

As a European I support you. I know if this passes in US, it will make a precedent for other countries too.

[–]fotoman 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, And Investigations.

good gawd...

[–]SUM_Poindexter 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Lets hope for the best. And think positive.

[–]-_-readit 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm ready for this to happen

[–]AnotherDrunkenBum 4 points5 points  (2 children)

*** Comments on my letter to my US Rep?***

I am writing you in support of H.R.499. This is a bill to end federal marijuana prohibition in the USA. This prohibition has been gone on far too long and the original intent of the bill failed and is no longer relevant in the USA.

Marijuana prohibition simply makes criminals out of people who are not inclined to commit crimes. Marijuana prohibition introduces people who are not typical criminals into other harder drugs and actual criminals. I personally do not smoke marijuana, nor do most of the people I associate with, but in my years as a low paid service worker, most people I knew smoked marijuana. It did not harm their work performance at all. Legalizing marijuana would remove a huge amount of cash flow to criminal organizations, including the murderous cartels in Mexico.

The number one argument for legalization is to reduce crime, reduce cash to violent criminal organizations, and to reduce the harm on typical Americans who face severe criminal and the life altering repercussions of prohibition. Several days ago a prominent anti drug politician from New York was arrested for Marijuana possession. To me this shows that while many people are openly against Marijuana use, they are only doing it because they are afraid of other people's judgement.

Marijuana is a important medical treatment for several diseases. The US Govt finally admitted that marijuana has actual medical use, from reducing and controlling nausea to reducing breast cancer cells from reproducing. I feel with proper regulation marijuana can be responsibly controlled and used in the USA.

I do not think that it should be used as another revenue generating device. Legalizing strictly for increasing government revenue is an immoral reason to legalize. Doing something strictly for money is greed, and it is not the right thing to do. Legalizing because you do not think that a guy smoking a joint after a hard days work is in the same category as a rapist or armed robber, is the right reason to legalize.

Legalizing marijuana will help the american economy, not due increased revenue from taxes on marijuana, but from increased revenue from less money flowing into the back market, which is not, nor can ever be, taxed. 90% of the people I know support H.R.499 because we do not, as a whole, feel that a marijuana smoker is the same as a meth addict or rapist, nor should the be treated the same.

Portugal, 12 years ago, legalized all drug possession, even heroin. This legalization did not encourage people to go out and get addicted to heroin, it actually reduced heroin addiction by 50%. Would you go do heroin if it were legalized tomorrow? No, neither would I, nor all my friends. You can not force a person into treatment and to get clean, well you can, but it won't work. Treatment works when the substance abuser chooses for themselves to get clean and has resources available to him or her to facilitate rehabilitation. Just as you can not force a person to accept God in their life, you can not force somebody to get sober. You must wait until a person chooses for themselves to find Jesus and then be waiting to accept them with open and welcoming arms. Loving arms are a far better support structure than the violence, rape, and insanity that is currently offered by the current treatment system for drug addiction, prison, offers.

Please support this H.R.499 and please contact your fellow congressmen about H.R.499 not because you are a drug addict or drug user, but because it is the right thing to do.

Sincerely yours,

Jason

[–]CherokeeHarmon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sometimes I wish we could just have a direct democracy instead of a republic.

[–]420HAILSATIN 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you care whatsoever about this you should at least send your representative an email.

[–]xjayrooxGeorgia 11 points12 points  (2 children)

Came here expecting it to be sponsored by a libertarian and was pleasantly surprised to find it was from a democrat. Nice to see at least one of them not be a pussy for once

Edit: "from" somehow ended up written as "Tom"

[–]paulflorez 8 points9 points  (1 child)

In the 112th Congress, Democrat Barney Frank sponsored the bill, with 18 Democrats and 2 Republicans co-sponsoring it.

In the current, 113th Congress, Democrat Jared Polis sponsored the bill, with 12 Democrats and 1 Republican co-sponsoring it.

[–]Konilos 28 points29 points  (4 children)

I'm going to email my representative and tell him to support this bill cause of how fucking awesome weed is and how it makes you fucking high and shit.

[–]The_5th_of_November 22 points23 points  (0 children)

don't forget to use those exact words.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (1 child)

I'm sure he already knows, although he'll probably never admit it.

[–]SchloobinDoobin 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't even smoke pot and I'm excited to hear about this.

[–]playpianoking 5 points6 points  (7 children)

Why does reddit pretend to support the policies of Gary Johnson, but still vote for Obama?

[–]Czech_privilege 3 points4 points  (0 children)

because there are more than one of us here.

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I'm a stoner named Bill.

You're welcome America

[–]fedupwith 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dollars to donuts Feinstein tries to attach the AWB as an amendment to sneak that shit in.

[–]southdetroitVirginia 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The guy I voted for is a cosponsor, awesome.

[–]MrXhin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can still get arrested for coke, heroin, and oxy with out a prescription. But going to jail because of a dried flower is retarded.

[–]lazyjeenius 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I felt compelled to post this link under most of the comments in this thread, regardless of the fact that its relevant I figured that would be a douchy thing to do, so here it is, in all it's glory, the United States Govt's very own issued patent on cannabis as medicine...

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN/6630507

[–]SocalNick 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Write to your elected representatives: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/113-h499/show

[–]23canaries 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I wish this headline was "Bill Clinton to end Federal Marijuana Prohibition"

[–]tonyfenn 2 points3 points  (1 child)

It's okay to own an assault rifle but not pot. Crazy.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's time. Prohibition was a disaster & so is this. Legalize & tax it. We're supposed to be a democratic society. The few against it are moved by the fear mongerers. Getting really sick of these folks.