A resolution urging the federal government to reschedule marijuana has been given approval by the California Senate.

Senate Resolution 5 was given approval by the Senate today through its second reading, sending it to a third and final reading. The resolution “formally requests the United States Congress to pass a law to reschedule cannabis, marijuana, and its derivatives from a Schedule I drug, and for the President of the United States to sign such legislation”.

According to its legislative analysis, the resolution urges:

1) Congress of the United States to pass a law to reschedule marijuana or cannabis and its derivatives from a Schedule I drug to an alternative schedule, therefore allowing the legal research and development of marijuana or cannabis for medical use and allowing for the legal commerce of marijuana or cannabis so that businesses dealing with marijuana or cannabis can use traditional banks or financial institutions for their banking needs, which would result in providing a legal vehicle for those businesses to pay their taxes, including, but not limited to, payroll taxes, unsecured property taxes, and applicable taxes on the products sold in accordance with state and local laws. 2) President of the United States to sign such legislation. 3) The Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, to each Senator and Representatives from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.

The resolution is similar to one that was recently passed by West Virginia’s Senate.