End the Federal Prohibition on Marijuana End the federal prohibition on marijuana. Join me and Sen. Cory Booker to talk about stopping the failed war on drugs. Posted by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Thursday, April 19, 2018

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Cory Booker's bill to legalize marijuana on the federal level has picked up the support from a potential rival for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Sanders joined U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. (another potential 2020 hopeful) and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., as co-sponsors of Booker's Marijuana Justice Act, which would rescind federal marijuana laws and leave it to the states to decide whether to legalize the drug.

"Prohibition didn't work in the 1920s. It's not going to work now," said Sanders, adding that "very few people think that makes sense" to classify marijuana along with heroin under federal law.

The bill also would provide federal incentives to states to change their marijuana laws if they were shown to disproportionately hurt low-income individuals or people of color. In addition, people already convicted of marijuana-related crimes could have their sentences reviewed by a judge.

Booker, D-N.J., and Sanders, I-Vt., appeared together on Facebook Live to discuss the legislation.

"We have marijuana legalization already for people who are privileged," Booker said, "On college campuses, nobody worries about getting arrested."

Booker has touted his law as a correction to existing drug laws that have targeted minority communities.

"The end we seek is justice," he said. "The justice means addressing the damage and harm you caused by a war on drugs."

Sanders agreed.

"It is not just the men who have been arrested," Sanders said. "What happens to the children, what happens to the the wives, the girlfriends, who are trying to take care of those kids?"

Sanders noted that $80 billion a year is being spent to keep people behind bars, many of them for nothing more than using marijuana.

"The bottom line is we need to rethink fundamanetally our attitude toward marijuana," Sanders said. "Think about what it would mean if we started investing that money in inner cities, in rural America."

This is the third time since the 2016 presidential election that the two senators have teamed up together.

Sanders and Booker also introduced legislation to allow imports of prescription drugs and Booker co-sponsored his colleague's "Medicare for All" bill to provide universal health coverage to all Americans.

The runner-up to Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, Sanders hasn't ruled out trying for the White House again, and Booker is taking steps to prepare himself to run for president as well. Working with Sanders can help Booker appeal to a group of voters whose support will be crucial in 2020.

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.