As Washington state begins to implement a historic marijuana legalization initiative, some members of Congress are drafting bills that would end the federal government's 75-year prohibition on pot.
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The Associated Press reports that U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Jared Polis of Colorado, both Democrats, are working on bills that would direct the federal government to regulate marijuana similar to the way it handles alcohol.
Blumenauer's bill would also establish a 50-percent federal tax on the first point of sale for marijuana and tax producers and importers $1,000 each year.
"You folks in Washington and my friends in Colorado really upset the apple cart," Blumenauer told the AP. "We're still arresting two-thirds of a million people for use of a substance that a majority feel should be legal. ... It's past time for us to step in and try to sort this stuff out."
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice has largely remained silent on how it plans to respond to Washington's new marijuana law. Gov. Jay Inslee met last month with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and said he was encouraged by the discussion.
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