The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) passed a resolution to have the federal government stop interfering in state marijuana matters and to authorize state marijuana laws. As reported in The Washington Post:

The resolution, introduced by New Hampshire state Rep. Renny Cushing, lays out the argument that with 23 states and D.C. having passed medical marijuana laws and four others — Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington — having approved marijuana for recreational use, it is time for the federal government to explicitly legalize those policy experiments.

It also points to the difficulty marijuana businesses have had in securing financing — due to banks fearful of violating federal laws — and the potential medical benefits as reason for the change in federal laws.

While lawmakers may disagree on easing existing law, they do agree that “states and localities should be able to set whatever marijuana and hemp policies work best to improve the public safety, health, and economic development of their communities,” the resolution concludes.

For more information read the full article in The Washington Post and the NCSL resolution.