Published on
by

No, Bernie Sanders Tells Jeff Sessions, Marijuana Is Not the Same as Heroin

U.S. Senator slams Attorney General over decision to target states that have decriminalized or legalized marijuana

by
0 Comments

"No one who has seriously studied the issue believes that marijuana should be classified as a Schedule 1 drug beside killer drugs like heroin," said Sen. Sanders on Thursday. "Quite the contrary. We should allow states the right to move toward the decriminalization of marijuana, not reverse the progress that has been made in recent years." (Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP)

In a terse response to news Thursday that President Donald Trump's Justice Department would rescind its hands-off policy regarding states that have legalized medical and recreational marijuana, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) scolded Attorney General Jeff Sessions for equating the dangers of pot with heroin.

During his time in the U.S. Senate and as AG, Sessions has repeatedly assailed marijuana as comparable to much harder drugs like heroin, though scientific experts have called that nonsense.

"No, Attorney General Sessions," Sanders said in his Thursday statement. "Marijuana is not the same as heroin."

He continued, "No one who has seriously studied the issue believes that marijuana should be classified as a Schedule 1 drug beside killer drugs like heroin. Quite the contrary. We should allow states the right to move toward the decriminalization of marijuana, not reverse the progress that has been made in recent years."

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

This is the world we live in. This is the world we cover.

Because of people like you, another world is possible. There are many battles to be won, but we will battle them together—all of us. Common Dreams is not your normal news site. We don't survive on clicks. We don't want advertising dollars. We want the world to be a better place. But we can't do it alone. It doesn't work that way. We need you. If you can help today—because every gift of every size matters—please do.

Share This Article

Related Articles

More in:
Rights, U.S.
,
War on Drugs, Bernie Sanders, Jeff Sessions, Marijuana