The American Bar Association (ABA) has passed a resolution in support of ending federal marijuana prohibition and removing the substance from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
In language that does not mince words, the proposal reads: FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges Congress to enact legislation to remove marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act
Commenting on the passage of the resolution, NORML Legal Counsel Keith Stroup said “As a young lawyer, I started NORML in 1970 because the legal case needed to be made that the criminalization of marijuana was wrong, and activist lawyers have always played a key role in the expansion of the NORML network across the country. The approval of this recent motion by the ABA, which calls for marijuana to be removed from the Controlled Substances Act altogether, is welcome vindication of the efforts of NORML and all the attorneys who fought against this unjust prohibition for the past fifty years.”
There are various pieces of legislation pending in Congress that would remove marijuana from the CSA, including a bill that was recently introduced by the House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler entitled The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act.