Is The Voice Of The People FINALLY Being Heard?

Today Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced legislation to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The bill, dubbed the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008, marks the first time in decades that Congress has considered removing criminal penalties for marijuana. Congressman Frank's legislation would decriminalize the possession of up to 100 grams of marijuana (3ozs) and the not-for-profit transfer of one ounce of marijuana. It would not affect laws prohibiting drug sales or the cultivation of marijuana, and it would not affect state or local laws regulating marijuana possession.

"It's time for the politicians to catch up with the public on this ," Congressman Frank said. "The notion that you lock people up for smoking marijuana is pretty silly."

The bill incorporates the basic recommendation of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse (also known as the Shafer Commission). The commission, which was administered by the White House and published its findings in 1972, recommended that then-president Richard Nixon decriminalize possession of marijuana in amounts that constituted "simple possession."

Thirty-six years later, Rep. Frank will try to do just that.