U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, is cosponsoring a bill to decriminalize marijuana across the nation and penalize states with high arrest and incarceration rates for pot-related crimes.

The Marijuana Justice Act of 2017, first introduced in August by Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, would remove weed from the federal list of controlled substances.

The bill also would penalize states that haven't legalized marijuana and have "disproportionate" rates of arrest and incarceration for marijuana-related offences by cutting federal funding in those states for new jails, prisons and staffing.

For the bill's purposes, disproportionate rates of arrest and incarceration are defined as:

"The percentage of minority individuals arrested for a marijuana related offense in a state is higher than the percentage of the non-minority individual population of the state, as determined by the most recent census data"

"The percentage of low-income individuals arrested for a marijuana offense in a state is higher than the percentage of the population of the state that are not low-income individuals, as determined by the most recent census data"

"The percentage of minority individuals incarcerated for a marijuana related offense in a state is higher than the percentage of the non-minority individual population of the state, as determined by the most recent census data"

The bill would help Americans convicted of marijuana-related crimes retroactively expunge those offences from their records.

In addition, it would create a "Community Reinvestment Fund" for communities hit hardest by the war on drugs. Communities would get federal money for efforts such as job training programs, pubic libraries, community centers and health education programs.

The bill proposes spending at least $500 million every fiscal year from 2018 to 2040 on the reinvestment programs.

Sitting beside Wyden for a Facebook Live video Monday to announce the sponsorship, Booker said having the Oregon Democrat aboard added "a stamp of gravitas."

"We've got to get out of the war on drugs, which is really a war on people, a war on poor people, a war on a disproportionate (number) of minorities, a war on (the) mentally ill," Booker said.

Wyden said people of color around the U.S. are convicted for marijuana crimes that millions of other Americans also commit without facing the same consequences. "It's just wrong, wrong, wrong."

Odds of the bill's success, however, are low. Jim Moore, director of the Tom McCall Center for Policy Innovation at Pacific University, said, "I don't think it's chances are very good."

It's not just because Congress is controlled by Republicans right now, he said, but because a number of Democrats also oppose this kind of legislation.

But it does create "a national conversation," Moore said.

With many looking ahead to the 2020 presidential election, marijuana policy is poised to become a major talking point among candidates, he said.

"It could end up becoming a very interesting political plank," Moore said.

Wyden's announcement Monday comes as U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, is rushing to save federal protections for medical marijuana users as part of a congressional spending package needed to avoid a government shutdown.

The Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment basically stops the Justice Department from prosecuting medical marijuana users in states where voters have approved such use.

Federal lawmakers originally passed a version of the amendment in 2014, but they’ve had to re-approve it every time the Justice Department’s spending guidelines go before Congress.

The amendment hit turbulence earlier this year when the House Rules Committee blocked a vote on it. The Senate Appropriations Committee, however, approved a version of the amendment.

"Ultimately, Congress must act to put an end to the cycle of uncertainty and permanently protect state medical marijuana programs — and adult use — from federal interference," Blumenauer said earlier this month. "The American people have spoken. It’s past time that Congress catch up."

Blumenauer has also launched a political-action committee, called the Cannabis Fund, to unseat anti-marijuana lawmakers. The committee has garnered at least $2,000, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Reach staff reporter Jonathan Bach by email at jbach@statesmanjournal.com or by phone at 503-399-6714. Follow him on Twitter @JonathanMBach and Facebook at www.facebook.com/jonathanbachjournalist/.