Washington, DC: Congressional representatives, health professionals and patients will be holding a Capitol Hill press conference on Wednesday, July 24, urging Congress to debate and approve H.R. 2592, the “States’ Rights to Medical Marijuana Act.”
House Bill 2592, introduced by Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX), would amend federal law so that states wishing to legalize and distribute medical marijuana could do so without running afoul of federal law. The bill has 36 bi-partisan co-sponsors, but has never received a hearing in Congress. Reps. Frank, Paul, Dana Rohrbacher (R-CA) and former top Reagan presidential aide Lyn Nofziger are confirmed to appear at next week’s conference.
According to a nationwide poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 73 percent of Americans support the legalization of medical marijuana. Since 1996, nine states have passed legislation protecting patients who use the drug from criminal penalties.
“Congress must no longer ignore the will of the American people and the needs of seriously ill patients,” said NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup. “Congress needs to approve H.R. 2592 and allow states to implement their own medical marijuana policies unimpeded by the federal government.”
For more information on next week’s press conference, please visit: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5347 .