Dear *******:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the legalization of medical marijuana. I share your concern for the sick and agree that medical marijuana should not be criminalized.

Like you, I want to make sure our drug laws do not prevent severely ill individuals from having access to treatments that may benefit them. I believe the purpose of our drug laws should be to protect our children and our communities from violence and addiction, and not to make criminals out of suffering Americans. Our laws should be based on common sense. If there are legitimate medical uses for marijuana, we should make sure our laws allow for those uses.

As you know, many states are currently taking the lead on this issue. California has decriminalized medical marijuana, as have a number of other states. The federal government should respect the authority of states to set their own law enforcement priorities. If California, or any other state, decides that it is a much better use of limited resources to target the kingpins who kill our children and devastate our communities rather than severely ill individuals merely using marijuana as a treatment, the federal government should not interfere.

Thank you for contacting me about this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can ever be of assistance to you on this, or any other matter.



Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator
epilepticme Reviewed by epilepticme on . Chuck Dear *******: Thank you for contacting me regarding the legalization of medical marijuana. I share your concern for the sick and agree that medical marijuana should not be criminalized. Like you, I want to make sure our drug laws do not prevent severely ill individuals from having access to treatments that may benefit them. I believe the purpose of our drug laws should be to protect our children and our communities from violence and addiction, and not to make criminals out of Rating: 5