18 members of Congress sent a bipartisan letter to President Obama Wednesday asking him to re-classify marijuana so that it is no longer a Schedule I drug — the most serious classification for criminal drug penalties.
The congressmen said in their letter, obtained by The Daily Caller, that they were “encouraged by [Obama’s] recent comments” in his “interview with David Remnick in the January 27, 2014 issue of The New Yorker.”
“You said that you don’t believe marijuana is any more dangerous than alcohol: a fully legalized substance, and believe it to be less dangerous ‘in terms of its impact on the individual consumer.’ This is true. Marijuana, however, remains listed in the Federal Controlled Substances Act at Schedule I, the strictest classification, along with heroin and LSD…This makes no sense,” according to the letter spearheaded by Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer.
“Classifying marijuana as Schedule I at the federal level perpetuates an unjust and irrational system,” the letter reads. “…We request that you instruct Attorney General Holder to delist or declassify marijuana in a more appropriate way, at the very least eliminating it from Schedule I or II.”
“Thank you for your continued thoughtfulness about this important issue. We believe the current system wastes resources and destroys lives, in turn damaging families and communities. Taking action on this issue is long overdue.”
Congressional signers of the letter include Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley, Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva, and Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky.