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A senator in Puerto Rico has filed a bill to remove penalties for low-level marijuana possession in the U.S. territory, motivated by President Joe Biden\u2019s recent cannabis pardons action.<\/p>\n
Independent Sen. Jos\u00e9 Vargas Vidot introduced the legislation on Tuesday, applauding the president for having \u201cthe courage that many here have lacked to say out loud that it does not make sense that there are penalties for simple possession of cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the bill is all the more necessary given that the governor of the territory has indicated he will not be taking up Biden\u2019s call to issue clemency to people with local convictions. Several other governors have said that they\u2019d be reviewing their authority to that end<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Puerto Rico, the step towards [enacting medical cannabis legalization] was taken, but the courage to decriminalize was lacking,\u201d Vidot said, according to a translation. \u201cIf we are saying that cannabis has medical benefits, it is not logical to criminalize those who consume it. It is time to change this.\u201d<\/p>\n The full text of the proposal is not yet available, but an official summary<\/a> says it would \u201celiminate all penalties established against any person for possession for personal use of marijuana,\u201d according to a translation. It would also be applied retroactively and\u00a0\u201cestablish a non-controversial presumption\u201d that cannabis would be considered personal consumption.<\/p>\n A news report said it would apply to possession of up to five grams of marijuana, though distribution would continue to be criminalized and there wouldn\u2019t be any adult-use retailers for legal access.<\/p>\n Vidot has also called for broader drug decriminalization, according<\/a> to Telemundo Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia (D), who has backed modest cannabis reform legislation but made dismissive remarks about the benefits of adult-use legalization this year, signaled<\/a> that the official would not be taking steps to issue cannabis clemency in line with Biden\u2019s request.<\/p>\n Vidot said that the governor\u2019s response shows that he is \u201clacking the will and courage to take an important step for justice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven though the goal should be the decriminalization of all drugs, as several advanced jurisdictions have already successfully done, with this proposal, we advance the decriminalization of cannabis or marijuana, taking the first step in that direction,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u2014 A Puerto Rico Justice Department official separately told<\/a> Noticias Sin that the government takes a \u201ctherapeutic approach\u201d to drug enforcement for people with substance misuse disorders, seemingly downplaying the urgency of administrative clemency action.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the governor of another territory, the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), renewed his call to legalize marijuana<\/a> this summer, putting pressure on the legislature to enact the reform as a revenue generator that he says is long overdue.<\/p>\n The governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)\u00a0signed a bill to end prohibition in 2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n The following year, the\u00a0governor of Guam signed legalization into law<\/a>.<\/p>\n Federal Report Details Who\u2019s Impacted By Biden\u2019s Marijuana Pardon Action, State By State<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Puerto Rico Senator Files Bill To Erase Marijuana Possession Penalties, Following Biden\u2019s Pardon Action<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A senator in Puerto Rico has filed a bill to remove penalties for low-level marijuana possession in the U.S. territory, motivated by President Joe Biden\u2019s recent cannabis pardons action. Independent Sen. Jos\u00e9 Vargas Vidot introduced the legislation on Tuesday, applauding the president for having \u201cthe courage that many here haveContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":57524,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57523"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57523"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57525,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57523\/revisions\/57525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Puerto Rico Senator Files Bill To Erase Marijuana Possession Penalties, Following Biden\u2019s Pardon Action<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"