Congressional staffers and members of the press packed a hearing room on Capitol Hill Wednesday for Rep. Barney Frank's (D-MA) announcement of the first federal marijuana decriminalization bill in decades.
 
The bill, H.R. 5843, would remove federal criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use, so that federal law enforcement agencies can concentrate on violent offenders and major drug traffickers.
 
Three members of Congress spoke at the press conference in support of the bill. Frank spoke of the misuse of resources represented by current marijuana enforcement practices, while Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) condemned the drug war's disproportionate impact on people of color.
 
Bill Piper, DPA's director of national affairs, highlighted the collateral consequences of marijuana arrests. Piper explained that people convicted of a marijuana charge often lose their jobs and are denied school loans and other forms of public assistance.
 
Last year alone, the police made almost 830,000 arrests for marijuana law offenses in the United States. Nearly 90 percent of those arrests were for posssession for personal use.
 
CNN covered Wednesday's event with a story quoting Piper and other advocates. You can watch a CNN clip of Rep. Frank speaking on the bill here.  
 
DPA supporters have been advocating for H.R. 5843 since it was introduced this spring. If you have not yet taken action, urge your member of Congress to support the bill.