The Democratic Party officially cast its vote for a "reasoned pathway" for future marijuana legalization yesterday afternoon in their platform committee meeting, when an 81-80 vote added to the party's platform an amendment to the Controlled Substances Act that would downgrade marijuana from being classified alongside heroin as a Schedule 1 drug, "providing a reasoned pathway for future legalization."
It seems pretty clear after this vote that the Democrats' idea is to still let states go state-by-state with marijuana legalization—a more strongly worded amendment proposed yesterday afternoon would have struck marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act altogether, but some committee members worried that it would harm states' efforts to research decriminalization.
Still, the victory is big for pro-legalization advocates, especially those in Bernie Sanders' corner. With many expecting that Sanders will cede to Hillary Clinton in a matter of days, some could view the official adoption of a move toward legalization as a parting gift from his campaign. Apparently, as the Washington Post notes, most of the committee observers were from his camp (yes, a crowd did actually gather to watch the proceedings).
And we're sure that those who are contributing to the expected $6.7 billion in legal marijuana sales this year are sure to be happy as well.
Here's the full text of the marijuana amendment: "Because of conflicting laws concerning marijuana, both on the federal and state levels, we encourage the federal government to remove marijuana from its list as a Class 1 Federal Controlled Substance, providing a reasoned pathway for future legalization."
The committee also approved a strong statement on law enforcement strategies and transparency for the party platform, which, given recent news from Dallas and elsewhere, is definitely timely:
"We will work with police chiefs to invest in training for officers on issues such as de-escalation and the creation of national guidelines for the appropriate use of force, including how to de-escalate situations. We will encourage better police-community relations, require the use of body cameras, and stop the use of weapons of war that have no place in our communities. We will end racial profiling that targets individuals solely on race, religion, ethnicity, and national origin, which is un-American and counterproductive. We should report national data on policing strategies and provide greater transparency and accountability. We will require the Department of Justice to investigate all questionable or suspicious police-involved shootings, and we will support states and localities who help make those investigations and prosecutions more transparent, including through reforming the grand jury process."
These are two super-contentious issues—here's how to talk about them without getting into a fight:
