VICE speaks with New York Senator Chuck Schumer to hear about why he’s had a change of heart about cannabis and why he’s introducing legislation to decriminalize marijuana on a Federal level that would allow the states to decide about how they want to control recreational marijuana.
Schumer says that he’s personally fine with recreational use however, the current laws in his own state of New York classify marijuana as a Schedule I substance, which means that it is seen to have a high potential for abuse and no generally recognized medical value. Currently, possession of relatively small amounts of cannabis are punished with fines and jail time in New York.
Schumer deflects a question about whether this is a play for the youth vote by saying that 63% of all Americans from all demographics are for not just decriminalization, like what as he’s introducing but legalization of marijuana.
