[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5718]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           MEDICAL MARIJUANA

  (Mr. GAETZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, 93 percent of Americans support the 
legalization of doctor-prescribed medical marijuana--93 percent. But 
despite this widespread public support, marijuana remains classified as 
a schedule I drug, the same as LSD or heroin.
  This harms low-income communities each year, it turns thousands of 
citizens into felons, and it punishes people who are sick and looking 
for medical help.
  I think of Rayann, a young lady in my district with juvenile 
refractory epilepsy. She has seizures every day. Other treatments 
failed, but medical marijuana helped improve her condition. I thought 
of her when I worked on, and passed, Florida's Compassionate Medical 
Cannabis Act.
  Marijuana must be moved to schedule III, which will make it easier to 
conduct research into its medical uses. It will allow businesses to 
work with banks instead of looking over their shoulders in fear of a 
Federal raid, and it will keep States from being at odds with Federal 
law.
  Today I am proud to introduce legislation that will reclassify 
marijuana as a schedule III drug. I look forward to working with my 
colleagues. America is watching, and now we must act.

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