Thanks to the tenacious efforts of Sen. Bernie Sanders, the National Democratic Party has endorsed the reclassification of marijuana as a party platform and seeks the unequivocal legalization of cannabis at both the state and federal level.

Currently consigned to the most restrictive classification available in the Controlled Substance Act (CSA), marijuana is presently labeled as a Schedule 1 narcotic, imprisoned with the likes of LSD and Heroin.

Taking the road less traveled, Democrats hope to expedite the legalization process by downgrading marijuana’s current schedule I classification…

Marijuana: Committee members McKibben and Browner worked on an amendment supporting states that choose to decriminalize marijuana. The amendment also recognized that marijuana laws have had an unacceptable disparate impact, with arrest rates for marijuana possession among African Americans far outstripping arrest rates among whites, despite similar usage rates. The Committee passed the amendment unanimously.

While at the same time reforming the criminal justice system…

Criminal Justice Reform: The current draft calls for ending the era of mass incarceration, shutting down private prisons, ending racial profiling, reforming the grand jury process, investing in re-entry programs, banning the box to help give people a second chance and prioritizing treatment over incarceration for individuals suffering addiction. The Committee also voted unanimously to recognize the role activists and recent movements have played in putting these issues front and center in the national conversation, as they should be.

Ultimately adopting their language for a “pathway for future legalization,” the Washington Post reported one of Bernie’s delegates had strongly criticized marijuana’s inclusion within the Controlled Substance Act as a means of hurting “hippies and blacks.” Which ultimately hurt everyone.