# Liberty Movement > Defenders of Liberty > Justin Amash Forum >  Rep. Justin Amash cosponsors change to federal marijuana laws

## CaseyJones

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapi...s_would_m.html




> GRAND RAPIDS, MI  U.S Rep.
> 
> Justin Amash has co-sponsored legislation to prevent the federal government from prosecuting people following their state marijuana laws.
> 
> Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican, on Friday, April 12, introduced Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2013. The federal law would essentially be the same as each states law regarding marijuana.
> 
> This bipartisan bill represents a common-sense approach that establishes federal government respect for all states marijuana laws," Rohrabacher said in a statement.  It does so by keeping the federal government out of the business of criminalizing marijuana activities in states that dont want it to be criminal.
> 
> Amash, R-Cascade Township, co-sponsored the legislation with six others, including Democrats Earl Blumenauer, of Oregon, Steve Cohen, of Tennessee, and Jared Polis, of Colorado.
> ...


more at link ^

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## Icymudpuppy

Good article.  Mostly positive comments

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## compromise

Don Young's a co-sponsor. Maybe this was the reason Ron endorsed him?

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## TaftFan

> Don Young's a co-sponsor. Maybe this was the reason Ron endorsed him?


Yeah, but overall he is one of the worst Republicans.

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## Brett85

That makes Amash bolder on this issue than Rand.  Rand hasn't introduced or co-sponsored any bill to allow the states to set their own marijuana laws.

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## Christian Liberty

If Rand actually votes no on this I will officially stop suppoting him.  Its one thing to oppose legalization at the state level, it is another thing to also oppose the 10th amendment.

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## squarepusher

> If Rand actually votes no on this I will officially stop suppoting him.  Its one thing to oppose legalization at the state level, it is another thing to also oppose the 10th amendment.


I think Rand supports hemp and medical marijuana, he was helping with a hemp bill in Ky

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## TaftFan

Rand couldn't actively support marijuana stuff because he was trying to pass the hemp bill in Kentucky. It is now law.

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## Christian Liberty

The only thing I expect from him is to vote to leave it to the states.  If he won't even do that, I won't support him...

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## compromise

> The only thing I expect from him is to vote to leave it to the states.  If he won't even do that, I won't support him...


He probably won't get a vote on this, unless he teams up with Wyden, Leahy and Merkley and reintroduces it himself. The introduction of this bill in the House is largely symbolic, it probably won't pass the committee, let alone the House.

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## HigherVision

That's awesome

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## ClydeCoulter

So, it's a "let's uphold the 10th Amendment on this particular issue law"?

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## surf

bump - and a + rep for those that can prove they've contacted their rep.

as a Washingtonian, i'd welcome everyone's pursuit of this.

Marijuana Policy Project has a site to contact your person https://secure2.convio.net/mpp/site/...Action&id=1795

H.R. 1523

By Mr. ROHRABACHER (for himself, Mr. COHEN, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. POLIS, Mr. AMASH, and Mr. BLUMENAUER)

cosponsors I've found so far:
Mr. Benishek, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Schakowsky, and Ms. Norton, Mr. POCAN, Mr. Farr, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. MORAN, and Ms. Hahn

that's 16 total.

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## surf

+ rep offer is still out there....


add Rep. Hastings, Alcee L. [D-FL-20]

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## ClydeCoulter

Also, while your contacting your rep, mention that they should support Thomas Massie's H.R.525 The Industrial Hemp Farming Act.

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## Warlord

> That makes Amash bolder on this issue than Rand.  Rand hasn't introduced or co-sponsored any bill to allow the states to set their own marijuana laws.


Here we go again TC bringing up Rand in Amash's subforum. Who'd have thought it.

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## Warlord

> If Rand actually votes no on this I will officially stop suppoting him.  Its one thing to oppose legalization at the state level, it is another thing to also oppose the 10th amendment.


Here we go again. FF bringing up Rand in Amash's subforum.  WHo'd have thought it.

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## WhistlinDave

While we're contacting our reps, please ask them to also co-sponsor HR 499.  It goes a step further by completely removing marijuana from the controlled substances act altogether and makes it as legal as alcohol or tobacco on the Federal level.  

H.R.1523 that Justin just signed onto is good, but H.R.499 is better imho.  If we could get either one of them passed though, it would rock.

Here's a thread on H.R.499 with a link to take action if you're so inclined:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...ighlight=HR499

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## WhistlinDave

> If Rand actually votes no on this I will officially stop supporting him.  Its one thing to oppose legalization at the state level, it is another thing to also oppose the 10th amendment.


I think I might agree with you on this.  As of right now I support Rand whole-heartedly, but this is important.  There are only a few issues that are potential deal breakers for me but this, the re-legalization of a plant that's less toxic to humans than aspirin or raw potatoes, is one of them.  Hopefully I won't have to decide whether to cross that bridge down the road.

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## Christian Liberty

> Here we go again TC bringing up Rand in Amash's subforum. Who'd have thought it.





> Here we go again. FF bringing up Rand in Amash's subforum.  WHo'd have thought it.


And both of these posts were older than the recent fight over Rand.

-1 for inability to read...

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## Christian Liberty

Dang it, can't neg rep Warlord right now, have to spread some reputation.  Don't worry, I'll get to it.




> I think I might agree with you on this.  As of right now I support Rand whole-heartedly, but this is important.  There are only a few issues that are potential deal breakers for me but this, the re-legalization of a plant that's less toxic to humans than aspirin or raw potatoes, is one of them.  Hopefully I won't have to decide whether to cross that bridge down the road.


Rand already sort of lost me on the whole Iran vote. (You'll recall that I posted that a month ago.)  I'm a bit confused ATM and don't know quite what to think.  Rand is certainly the least bad of the senators but is he really his father's son or just the best the establishment has?  The Iran vote really made  me unsure...

But then again, we already went through this fight.  I'm not going to duke this one out again, in Amash's forum at that.

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## surf

Rep. Welch, Peter [D-VT-At Large]

17 cosponsor now. it's something....

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## surf

Rep. McDermott, Jim [D-WA-7]

about f#cking time another rep from a state that decriminalized pot joined in. that makes 2 from the Evergreen state.

fyi - there's an article in the local paper today about the lack of cajones among our delegation.

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## Brett85

Why is Freedom Fanatic's account restricted?

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## compromise

> Why is Freedom Fanatic's account restricted?


He's way too dangerous for RPF. A wise decision, IMO.

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## Brett85

> He's way too dangerous for RPF. A wise decision, IMO.


What do you mean by "dangerous?"

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## compromise

> What do you mean by "dangerous?"


His overly aggressive rhetoric can cause legal problems.

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## Brett85

> His overly aggressive rhetoric can cause legal problems.


I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that either.  Like when he says that it's justified to kill abortion doctors?  That just seems like freedom of speech protected under the 1st amendment to me.

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## surf

http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-...523/cosponsors
refer to the topic line if wondering what to post on this thread, please.

still offering + reps for anyone that sent a message to their congressional rep and posts the rep's response.

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## WhistlinDave

Dear David,

Thank you for writing to express your support for the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013.   I appreciate hearing your concerns and welcome the opportunity to respond to your comments.

As you may know, Congressman Thomas Massie introduced the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013 as H.R.525.   This bill would amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana.   Currently, H.R.525 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Judiciary Committee, where it awaits further action.

Please know that I understand your concerns regarding the importance of industrial hemp and the current challenges in importing hemp for domestic uses.     Rest assured that as this bill or similar issues are considered in Congress I will keep your views in mind.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me about this important issue. Your comments help me to better represent the people of our Congressional District. Please stay in touch, and if I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to email me through my website at  www.lowenthal.house.gov   or call my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 225-7924.

Sincerely,

Alan S. Lowenthal 
Member of Congress

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## WhistlinDave

Oh, wait a minute... that was the wrong one.  I think I may have deleted the other one already, dealing with the Amash bill.... I'm going to send my rep another message on that one just in case.

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## WhistlinDave

Well I'm sure I wrote to my rep on HR 1523, but I must've deleted his response already.  I'll write to him again just to make sure.  In the meantime, here's another response I got from him regarding two other bills on the good herb.  


Dear David,

Thank you for writing to express your opposition to the federal prohibition on marijuana. I appreciate hearing your concerns and welcome the opportunity to respond to your comments.

As you know, H.R.499, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2013, was introduced by my colleague Congressman Jared Polis. This bill would remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and give the States the authority to regulate the sale, possession, taxation, and use of marijuana. The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2013 currently awaits consideration before the House Judiciary, Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Committees. In addition, H.R.501, the Marijuana Tax Equity Act of 2013, which imposes an excise tax on the marijuana industry, was introduced by Congressman Earl Blumenauer and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. Both of these bills currently await further action at the committee level.

Legalizing and taxing marijuana at the Federal level seems to be gaining some momentum and I believe that H.R.499 and H.R.501 could help end the costly war on drugs by allowing law enforcement to spend limited resources on the enforcement of other, more urgent drug enforcement measures. Rest assured that I will keep your views in mind as this issue comes to the House floor for a vote.

You may also be interested to know that I am a cosponsor of H.R.689, also known as the States' Medical Marijuana Patients Protection Act. This bill, also authored by Congressman Earl Blumenauer, would provide for the rescheduling of marijuana to a Schedule III drug, and authorize the medical use of marijuana in accordance with State law.

Downgrading marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug would have an impact by decreasing the excessive costs of regulating marijuana, but I also understand the need to end the Federal prohibition on medical marijuana in order to protect patients who use medical marijuana for treatment.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me about this important issue. Your comments help me to better represent the people of our Congressional District. Please stay in touch, and if I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to email me through my website atwww.lowenthal.house.govor call my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 225-7924.


Sincerely,

Alan S. Lowenthal 
Member of Congress 


Thread search tags   H.R. 1523  HR 1523  H.R.1523  HR1523

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## surf

> July 17, 2013
> 
> Dear Tim,
> 
> Thank you for contacting me regarding the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act (H.R. 1523).  I know this is an important issue to many of my constituents and I appreciate hearing your opinion.
> 
> Today, a number of states permit the medical use of marijuana, and recently the people of Washington and Colorado voted to legalize small amounts of marijuana for personal use by adults. Under the new laws, Washington and Colorado will each establish a comprehensive regulatory scheme governing the production, sale and personal use of marijuana.
> 
> As you know, the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act would exempt any person acting in compliance with state laws from federal laws banning the sale, possession and use of small amounts of marijuana by adults. Currently, the bill has been referred to the House Judiciary and Energy and Commerce committees where it awaits consideration. *I agree with you that it would be a mistake for the federal government to focus enforcement action on individuals whose actions are in compliance with state law. I recently joined several of my colleagues in sending a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting that the U.S. Department of Justice assure our citizens that they will not be penalized by the federal government for activities considered legal under state law.  Moving forward, please know I will keep your views on this issue in mind.* 
> ...


still not a co-

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## surf

> July 26, 2013
> 
> 
> Thank you for contacting me regarding the protection of medical marijuana under federal law.  I know this is an important issue for many of my constituents and I appreciate hearing your opinion.
> 
> Today, a number of states permit the medical use of marijuana, and recently the people of Washington and Colorado voted to legalize small amounts of marijuana for personal use by adults. Under the new laws, Washington and Colorado will each establish a comprehensive regulatory scheme governing the production, sale and personal use of marijuana.
> 
> You may be interested to know that the States' Medical Marijuana Patients Protection Act would allow medical marijuana patients and businesses, who are complying with state law, the ability to access and distribute marijuana free from federal interference. Additionally, the States' Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection Act (H.R. 784) would make it illegal for the federal government to seize the assets of medical marijuana business owners.  Currently, these bill have been referred to several House committees where they await consideration. I agree with you that it would be a mistake for the federal government to focus enforcement action on individuals whose actions are in compliance with state law. I recently joined several of my colleagues in sending a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting that the U.S. Department of Justice assure our citizens that they will not be penalized by the federal government for activities considered legal under state law. Moving forward, please know I will keep your views on this issue in mind. 
> 
> ...


another letter today - same as before. kind of a bump given the f#ckhole AG just sent his jack-booted-thugs on a drug raid in my state.

Anash rocks.

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## surf

up to 20 cosponsors (last added 10/22)
update:
Rep. Stockman, Steve [R-TX-36]
Rep. Hunter, Duncan D. [R-CA-50]

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