[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 123 (Monday, July 23, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H6637]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       MARIJUANA DATA COLLECTION

  (Ms. GABBARD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, for decades, bad data and misinformation 
have fueled the failed war on drugs that has wasted billions of 
taxpayer dollars, incarcerating Americans for nonviolent marijuana 
charges.
  Our outdated marijuana policies have turned everyday Americans into 
criminals, strained our criminal justice system, cost taxpayers 
tremendously, and torn families apart, all for a substance that is 
proven to be far less harmful and dangerous than alcohol.
  Our Federal policy should be based on actual science and fact, not 
misplaced stigma and outdated myths. However, the fact that marijuana 
is currently classified as a schedule I drug, the same category as 
heroin and cocaine, restricts and even discourages scientific research 
on marijuana, limiting our ability to create science-based policies.
  I will be introducing the bipartisan Marijuana Data Collection Act 
with my colleague Congressman Carlos Curbelo so that we can get studies 
to set the record straight. Our bill would authorize a nonpartisan 
evidence-based report that analyzes current marijuana policies across 
the country and their effects on our communities.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.

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