In his humorous book last year, Al Franken’s coverage of drug abuse in a funny way, but the tone remained very somber as well.
Raised in a prudish household, Franken’s first drink wasn’t until college and his drug experimentation didn’t start until “Saturday Night Live” in his mid-twenties. Marijuana and coke were staples on the set and while most of the early cast didn’t think the show could go on without the fueling of cocaine, careers started to crash, relationships burned, actors and friends died and Franken swore off the stuff after it got to that point. It helped that he had never really been the addictive type.
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Even as a senator, Franken never denounced drug abusers, yet he also never really picked up the cannabis cause, which may have also had to do with his fairly conservative constituents in Minnesota.
Watch out now, though! Franken is on a full-on spree when it comes to marijuana legislation.
Earlier this month, Franken signed off on a bill that makes it so the Feds cannot obstruct marijuana laws that states vote in and another that would allow cannabis businesses banking privileges. Franken also cosponsored a third bill allowing pot distributors and growers to get tax credits and expenditures like any other small business would have access to.
The first bill was originally introduced by Sen. Cory Booker (D) New Jersey, and it deals with compliance as well as cannabis scheduling. It also allows for medicinal research into the herb. The Short Title quoted in the bill reads, “This Act may be cited as the “Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States Act of 2017” or the “CARERS Act of 2017”.
Some experts are speculating that Franken’s recent and heavy handed push for marijuana legislation could be part of a presidential bid consideration for 2020 or beyond. Cannabis polls are showing all-time highs in the realm of support among U.S. voters, outweighing those opposed by hefty margins.
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No matter the reason — the opioid crisis, social justice, criminal justice, medical reasoning, compassion, increased tax revenues, a presidential bid — the senator is going all in on marijuana legislation and those in the cannabis corner couldn’t be more thrilled for the additional support.
