Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Tuesday defended his recently filed bill to federally legalize marijuana, rejecting the idea that reforming cannabis laws leads to increased crime or drug use.
At a press briefing, the leader was asked to respond to prohibitionist arguments about possible consequences of enacting cannabis reform.
He said flatly that “the overwhelming evidence from the states that have legalized cannabis is there has not been an increase in crime and has not been an increase in drug use.”
“I think it makes a great deal of sense” to legalize marijuana, Schumer said.
Watch Schumer defend his cannabis legalization bill in the video below:
The comments come a week after Schumer, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) formally introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), a draft version of which was unveiled last year.
The briefing with the leader on Tuesday also overlapped with a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on cannabis reform that was happening at the same time—a first-of-its-kind meeting in the chamber. The panel, chaired by Booker, involved significant discussion of the new legalization legislation.
CAOA quickly gained two new cosponsors last week, including the third-highest-ranking Senate Democratic,
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