[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 1, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H2991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TIME TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA
(Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute.)
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, night after night, young people in
Portland, joined by thousands of their neighbors, gathered to demand
justice that Black lives matter. Yet, today, thousands are caught in
the legacy of Richard Nixon's cynical ``War on Drugs.'' It targeted
young, and especially Black people, for selective enforcement. Too many
are in jail or prison for nonviolent, often trivial offenses.
Today, over two-thirds of Americans--and the majority of
Republicans--think that cannabis should be legal. Let's pass the MORE
Act, with many of Barbara Lee's marijuana justice provisions already
approved by the Committee on the Judiciary. Stop discriminatory,
selective enforcement. Let's legalize it and stop enforcement all
together.
Mr. Speaker, it is time to finally protect young Black Americans from
the dangerous, discriminatory, selective enforcement on the War on
Drugs. Time to finally legalize marijuana.
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