Ron Paul Explains Intro of Marijuana Bill

On Thursday, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and others introduced the first ever bill in Congress to end federal marijuana prohibition. It is not a bill to legalize per se, but to end the federal ban on marijuana and let the states decide whether to legalize or not.

“The legislation would limit the federal government’s role in marijuana enforcement to cross-border or inter-state smuggling, allowing people to legally grow, use or sell marijuana in states where it is legal,” according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

More than 12 states allow sales of medical marijuana, but it isn’t legal under federal law, leading to messy confusion between local and federal authorities. In March, the DEA raided two medical marijuana dispensaries in California and 26 in Montana.

Paul explains that this really isn’t a radical move. Additionally, the bill was apparently prompted by comments from the Global Commission on Drug Policy, that the war on drugs was a failure and people caught with marijuana shouldn’t be punished for a crime that does no harm to others.

Listen to Paul tackling more questions with CNBC’s Larry Kudlow below. He views drug problems from a medical viewpoint, that punishing with prison time does not help an addict or prevent people from obtaining drugs.