Marijuana Should Be Legal Nationwide, Says Rep. Ryan

(Washington) – A member of congress from Northeast Ohio says it’s time to make marijuana legal in all 50 states.

Rep. Tim Ryan (D - Niles), whose district stretches from Akron to Youngstown, is cosponsor of a bill that would eliminate criminal penalties for the possession and consumption of marijuana, by removing it from the list of Schedule 1 substances.

Ryan says in a written statement, “We have ignored the social and economic toll of our marijuana laws for too long. I believe no person should be sentenced to a lifetime of hardship because of a marijuana arrest. It is morally wrong, economically nonsensical, and an unnecessary strain on our already strained law enforcement officials. Even more unjust is that the burden of these low-level drug charges fall on minority communities, hindering their God-given right to thrive and build a brighter future for themselves and their families.

"I am proud to stand on the side of justice by cosponsoring legislation to begin righting the wrongs of decades of misinformed drug policy and make marijuana legal in all 50 states,”

The bill that Ryan co-sponsored, HR 4815, is called the Marjuana Justice Act of 2018.  It amends the Controlled Substances Act to remove marijuana from schedule I; and eliminates criminal penalties for possession and consumption of marijuana.

(Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

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