WASHINGTON, DC – The United States House of
Representatives has voted to decriminalize marijuana. Some
Republican members have called the vote nothing more than a
political stunt.
Many states in the United States have legalized
marijuana in some form, whether it be medicinal or
recreational.�
Despite state governments legalizing the drug, the drug is still
prohibited by federal law. This made profiting off of the drug
complicated as banks could not allow proceeds from the sale of the
drug to be deposited.
In a measure from the House floor, Democrats have successfully
moved to decriminalize the drug, which would allow those who
legally sell it to deposit their financial gains if the Senate
agrees.
U.S. House Votes To Pass
Landmark Legislation On Legalizing Marijuana: By Aaron Kesel The
U.S. HOUSE is set to vote on a landmark bill that, if it passes,
would put an end to the federal… U.S. House Votes To Pass
Landmark Legislation On Legalizing… https://t.co/QtEOzESV11— Butterfly Effect (@_quantum_fx)
September 5, 2020
The Democrat-controlled House voted to approve the measure
legalizing marijuana and the taxation of sales of the drug at a
federal level. Republicans who oppose the measure called the bill
a hollow one that is nothing more than a political gesture. House
Minority Leader Keven McCarthy, a Republican from California,
said:
“With all the challenges America has right now,
[Republicans] think COVID relief should be on the floor, but
instead, the Democrats put cats and cannabis. They’re
[Democrats] picking weed over the workers. They’re picking
marijuana over the much-needed money we need to go
forward.â€
McCarthy’s issue is that the fight for marijuana legalization
would be better suited for a different time when there is no fight
between the parties over who should and should not receive federal
funding amid the deficits created by the pandemic.
Regardless of where Republican leaders believe time and energy
should be spent, the Democratic-controlled House decided to take up
marijuana and large feline bills in front of them.
The issue regarding large cat ownership is the issue as to
whether or not private parties may own large feline species, such
as tigers, lions, and so on.
The House has voted to
decriminalize marijuana.The vote was 228-to-164 and marked the first time either chamber
of Congress has voted on the issue of federally decriminalizing
cannabis. https://t.co/qSIh1rjquN— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1)
December 4, 2020
The issue over large cat ownership gained traction after the
Netflix series, “Tiger King.â€
In that series, a man owned several tigers and showed them off
to those who wanted entry into his privately owned zoo. Of course,
there were those that were against how he treated the felines and
took issue with the fact that he was making money off of park
attendees for petting the baby tigers.
The measure passed by the House prohibits private parties from
collecting the species. However, it does not prevent private zoos
from having them, as long as they do not allow private parties to
interact with the large animals.
Regarding the marijuana issue, those who are in support of the
marijuana bill say that it helps to reverse the effects of the
decades-long war on drugs.
The bill allows states to use taxation on marijuana to be used
to assist communities harmed by the drug war. It also provides for
avenues that would lead to the expungement of federal arrest
convictions for those that were convicted of selling the drug
illegally.
Democratic leader Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House
Judiciary Committee, said:
“For far too long, we have treated marijuana as a
criminal justice problem instead of as a matter of personal choice
and public health. Whatever one’s views are on the use of
marijuana for recreational or medical use, the policy of arrests,
prosecution, and incarceration at the federal level has proven
unwise and unjust.â€
Democratic Representative Barbara Lee believes the House bill is
an important racial justice measure. She said that the bill is
long overdue and is a “major step, mind you, a major step toward
ending the unjust war on drugs and racial inequities that are
central to these laws.â€
BREAKING: For the first time
in congressional history, the House of Representatives voted to
pass a measure that would decriminalize marijuana use at the
federal level. https://t.co/8WyEB5TUyh— ABC News (@ABC)
December 4, 2020
San Francisco bans smoking and vaping tobacco products in
apartments, but exempts marijuana smoking
December 2, 2020
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Apartment lessees in San
Francisco will have to abide to some new rules regarding their
homes – which include
not being allowed to smoke or vape and “tobacco†products
inside of their apartment (if the apartment building holds
three or more units).
This will likely serve as an inconvenience to apartment renters
who enjoyed leisurely smoking or vaping tobacco products inside
their homes.
On the other hand, this ban undoubtedly will sit well with
occupiers of connected units who didn’t care for cigarettes smoke
making its way through their vents.
San Francisco banned smoking
and vaping of tobacco in apartments Tuesday night, but only after
exempting cannabis in response to a backlash from marijuana
advocates. https://t.co/ty7wmPuDkw— SF Examiner (@sfexaminer)
December 2, 2020
However, if an apartment renter is dealing with marijuana smoke
coming through their vents in San Francisco due to a neighbor
sparking up in the adjacent dwelling, there’s zero respite for
said renter bombarded with that marijuana smoke.
That’s because this ban on smoking only relates to tobacco
smoking/vaping and specifically exempts marijuana use inside of
apartments.
And the reasoning behind is due to some complexities associated
with marijuana laws within the state of California.
The city’s Board of Supervisors voted 10-to-1 to approve the
legislation revolving around the in-home tobacco smoking ban when
it relates to apartment renters.
Board President Norman Yee, who was the man behind presenting
said legislation, justified it’s initial proposal by explaining
the following:
“The problem is smoke easily moves between units and
there is no way to contain it.â€
Said explanation isn’t radical by any means – as anyone who
has observed anyone smoking indoors or outside can see that smoke
is pretty free flowing.
SF Supes – more concerned
about potheads than the effect of second hand smoke. There you have
it. Is smoking fentanyl also exempt?— RipMan (@RickyBabba)
December 2, 2020
And Yee initially also wanted to ban the smoking of marijuana
within apartment units as well – because it’s not as though
tobacco smoke and marijuana smoke operate any differently.
But that’s when
pushback came from dubbed “cannabis advocatesâ€.
The San Francisco Cannabis Oversight Committee’s chair Nina
Parks addressed a letter to the city’s Board of Supervisors
demanding that marijuana be exempted from the proposed smoking ban
inside of apartments:
“The legislation seeks to protect air quality for
nonsmokers, but would do so at the cost of the health and civil
liberties of cannabis users including seriously ill medical
cannabis patients — the vast majority of whom do not have
physician’s recommendations because cannabis use is supposed to
be legal for all adults.â€
The letter continued from there, alleging that Yee’s proposal
was also a “classist ordinance†since homeowners would still be
allowed to smoke marijuana in their homes while apartment dwellers
would be barred from because they can’t afford a home yet:
“San Franciscans who can afford to buy free-standing
homes would be unaffected and could still smoke in
peace.â€
Seems like this should be left
up to the landlords if they want to decide to have a smoke free or
smoking allowed building… https://t.co/E0jQTICubL— Stephen Martin-Pinto (@StephenMPinto)
November 27, 2020
In a statement regarding said pushback, one of Yee’s
legislative aides responded to that sentiment by saying that
non-smokers of marijuana could make the same claim that they cannot
breathe clean air because they don’t own a home:
“Supervisor Yee understands how this policy could be
viewed as exempting people ‘who can afford to buy free-standing
homes’ from the smoke-free housing policy.â€
“But we would challenge that framing, and instead say
that currently only residents who can ‘afford to buy their own
free-standing homes’ are fortunate enough to choose to breathe
smoke-free air in their homes.â€
“The right to be able to breathe safely in your home
should exist for everyone in our city – regardless of where you
live.â€
While the back-and-forth was certainly spirited, Yee’s efforts
to include a banning on marijuana smoke inside of apartments
failed.
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman held a vote to amend Yee’s
proposal by including a blanket exemption to all forms of marijuana
smoke in the indoor smoking ban inside of apartments.
In a 8-3 vote in favor of Mandelman’s amendment, marijuana
smokers will be unaffected by the apartment smoking ban when it
relates to lighting up indoors.
And one of the biggest reasons why this was accomplished mainly
had to do with the law – in that tobacco smokers can smoke freely
outdoors whereas marijuana smokers cannot.
Mandelman explained it as follows:
“Tobacco smokers unable to smoke in their apartment
building can go out to the curb or find other public
space.â€
“There are other public spaces where they are allowed
to smoke. Cannabis smokers don’t have that alternative and so I
think it is important that we fully exempt cannabis from this
legislation.â€
And while Mandelman’s citing makes sense, the entire purpose
of the smoking ban was to alleviate individuals of having their
apartments filled with secondhand smoke from their neighbor’s
activities.
Obviously, this “smoking ban†fails to accomplish what it
was intended to do.
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Democrats in Congress vote to decriminalize marijuana on federal
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