--- title: Chuck Schumer to Unveil Bill Decriminalizing Marijuana description: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is planning to introduce a bill on Friday that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level canonical: https://time.com/5247431/senator-chuck-schumer-marijuana-decriminalize-bill/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-19T21:14:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-14T20:50:59.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Chuck Schumer to Unveil Bill Decriminalizing Marijuana at the Federal Level og:description: "Ultimately, it's the right thing to do" og:url: https://time.com/5247431/senator-chuck-schumer-marijuana-decriminalize-bill/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10c07ef74a4c6410/69892e33e76ad2384f631c09/senator-chuck-schumer-marijuana-bill.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Senate Lawmakers Address The Media After Weekly Policy Luncheons og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Chuck Schumer to Unveil Bill Decriminalizing Marijuana at the Federal Level twitter:description: "Ultimately, it's the right thing to do" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10c07ef74a4c6410/69892e33e76ad2384f631c09/senator-chuck-schumer-marijuana-bill.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Chuck Schumer to Unveil Bill Decriminalizing Marijuana at the Federal Level ## Video: The Real Reason We Associate 420 With Weed [Watch (HLS stream): The Real Reason We Associate 420 With Weed](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HRGpsfdl.m3u8) (1:10)  _Published 2017-04-20. Both marijuana smokers and non-smokers recognize April 20 or 4/20 as a national holiday for cannabis culture, but few actually know how the date got chosen._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 14, 2023 8:50 PM UTCPublished: Apr 19, 2018 9:14 PM UTC  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a news conference following weekly policy luncheons on Capitol Hill on April 10, 2018 in Washington, D.C. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a news conference following weekly policy luncheons on Capitol Hill on April 10, 2018 in Washington, D.C.Zach Gibson/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 14, 2023 8:50 PM UTCPublished: Apr 19, 2018 9:14 PM UTC Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is planning to introduce a bill on Friday that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, he said in a new [interview with VICE News](https://news.vice.com/en%5Fus/article/7xdjqz/sen-chuck-schumer-to-introduce-bill-to-decriminalize-marijuana). “The legislation is long overdue based on, you know, a bunch of different facts. I’ve seen too many people’s lives ruined because they had small amounts of marijuana and served time in jail much too long,” Schumer said in a [video clip](https://twitter.com/vicenews/status/987062729776287744) shared by VICE News on Thursday. “Ultimately, it’s the right thing to do. Freedom. If smoking marijuana doesn’t hurt anybody else, why shouldn’t we allow people to do it and not make it criminal?” Matt House, Schumer’s communications director, said in a [tweet](https://twitter.com/mattwhouse/status/987063782324297729) that the Senator will unveil the bill on Friday — [4/20](http://fortune.com/2018/04/19/420-day-events-california-legal-weed/), a day that has become a celebration of marijuana. House teased the interview with a photo of Schumer signing a bong for VICE’s Shawna Thomas, who conducted the interview. The full interview aired at 7:30 p.m. Thursday on VICE News Tonight on HBO. > [](https://twitter.com/mattwhouse/status/987065147901562880) > [](https://twitter.com/vicenews/status/987062729776287744) Schumer had previously been hesitant to support legalizing marijuana at the federal level. “It’s a tough issue. We talk about the comparison to alcohol — and obviously alcohol is legal, and I’m hardly a prohibitionist — but it does a lot of damage,” Schumer said in an [MSNBC interview](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/27/chuck-schumer-marijuana%5Fn%5F4675408.html) in 2014\. “The view I have — and I’m a little cautious on this — is let’s see how the state experiments work.” “I’d be a little cautious here at the federal level and see the laboratories of the states — see their outcomes before we make a decision,” Schumer added. Colorado and Washington became the first states to [legalize the recreational use of marijuana](http://time.com/5054194/legal-pot-experiment-history/) in 2012, and six states have followed since then. But Attorney General Jeff Sessions has [begun to crack down](http://time.com/5089940/heres-why-a-marijuana-crackdown-could-spell-disaster-for-republicans/) on the marijuana industry this year, [angering lawmakers](http://time.com/5088589/colorado-lawmakers-reactions-jeff-sessions-marijuana-restrictions/) and [cannabis growers](http://time.com/5088442/jeff-sessions-marijuana-legal/) in states where it is legal. Schumer hinted Thursday that he has changed his mind on the issue, tweeting, “People can change.” > [](https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/987064182641131521) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5247431/senator-chuck-schumer-marijuana-decriminalize-bill/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5247431/senator-chuck-schumer-marijuana-decriminalize-bill/"},"headline":"Chuck Schumer to Unveil Bill Decriminalizing Marijuana at the Federal Level","datePublished":"2018-04-19T21:14:32.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-14T20:50:59.000Z","description":"\"Ultimately, it's the right thing to do\"","url":"https://time.com/5247431/senator-chuck-schumer-marijuana-decriminalize-bill/","keywords":["Congress","New York","chuck schumer","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10c07ef74a4c6410/69892e33e76ad2384f631c09/senator-chuck-schumer-marijuana-bill.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10c07ef74a4c6410/69892e33e76ad2384f631c09/senator-chuck-schumer-marijuana-bill.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senate Lawmakers Address The Media After Weekly Policy Luncheons","caption":"Senate Lawmakers Address The Media After Weekly Policy Luncheons","creditText":"Zach Gibson/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5247431/senator-chuck-schumer-marijuana-decriminalize-bill/","name":"Chuck Schumer to Unveil Bill Decriminalizing Marijuana at the Federal Level"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Real Reason We Associate 420 With Weed","description":"Both marijuana smokers and non-smokers recognize April 20 or 4/20 as a national holiday for cannabis culture, but few actually know how the date got chosen.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/HRGpsfdl/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-04-20T16:15:37.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HRGpsfdl.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5247431/senator-chuck-schumer-marijuana-decriminalize-bill/","duration":"PT1M10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5247431/senator-chuck-schumer-marijuana-decriminalize-bill/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```