SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `National Commission on Federal Marijuana Policy Act of 2013'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In 1971, Congress created the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, led by Governor Raymond P. Shafer, known as the Shafer Commission.
(2) The Shafer Commission undertook a comprehensive review of the nature and scope of marijuana use, its effects, the relationship of marijuana use to other behavior, and the efficacy of existing law.
(3) The final report of the Shafer Commission recommended that marijuana be decriminalized.
(4) Since the Shafer Commission, the Federal Government has expanded its `War on Drugs' and continued to prohibit the use of marijuana.
(5) The District of Columbia and 18 States have legalized and regulated the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
(6) Since 1973, 15 States have decriminalized marijuana for personal use, in some cases based on the Shafer Commission recommendations.
(7) Since 1973, 2 States have legalized and regulated marijuana for personal use.
(8) Since the Shafer Commission, the Federal Government has not undertaken a similar review of its policy toward marijuana.
(9) The Federal Government must reconcile its prohibition of marijuana with the laws of the States where marijuana is legal for some purposes and the likelihood that more States will follow in this path.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.
There is established a commission to be known as the National Commission on Federal Marijuana Policy (in this Act referred to as the `Commission').
SEC. 4. DUTIES.
The Commission shall undertake a comprehensive review of the state and efficacy of current policies of the Federal Government toward marijuana in light of the growing number of States in which marijuana is legal for medicinal or personal use, including--
(1) how Federal policy should interact with State laws that make marijuana legal for medicinal or personal use;
(2) the cost of marijuana prohibition and potential State and Federal regulation of marijuana, as well as the potential revenue generated by taxation of marijuana;
(3) the impact of Federal banking and tax laws on businesses operating in compliance with State laws related to marijuana;
(4) the health impacts, both benefits and risks, related to marijuana use, and in comparison to alcohol and tobacco use;
(5) the domestic and international public safety effects of marijuana prohibition and the impact that regulation and control of marijuana has on public safety;
(6) the impact of marijuana prohibition on criminal justice, including any racial disparities, and the collateral consequences of prosecution for marijuana possession, including lack of access to housing, education, and employment;
(7) recommending the appropriate placement of marijuana in the schedule of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.); and
(8) the effects of marijuana prohibition or future regulation and control of marijuana on international relationships and treaty obligations.
Bill Text - 113th Congress (2013-2014) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
