Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is ready to introduce legislation to decriminalize marijuana.

Schumer said in a statement released Friday:

The time has come to decriminalize marijuana. My thinking – as well as the general population’s views – on the issue has evolved, and so I believe there’s no better time than the present to get this done. It’s simply the right thing to do. This legislation would let the states be the laboratories that they should be, ensure that woman and minority-owned business have a fair shot in the marijuana industry, invests in critical research on THC, and ensures that advertisers can’t target children – it’s a balanced approach.

Schumer outlined that his legislation would remove marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The leading Senate Democrat also suggested that his bill would also respect states’ rights to prevent the federal government from cracking down on states that have legalized marijuana.

The Senate Minority Leader added in a tweet on Friday, “And under existing law, the federal government considers marijuana as dangerous as heroin and treats it less favorably than cocaine. That has to change.”

On Thursday, Schumer signed a bong for Vice News.

Twenty-nine states legalized marijuana for medicinal use and eight states legalized marijuana for legal for recreation.

President Donald Trump endorsed letting states decide how to regulate marijuana last week.

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) received assurances from President Trump that he will allow states to decide whether to legalize marijuana.

Gardner said in a statement, “Since the campaign, President Trump has consistently supported states’ rights to decide for themselves how best to approach marijuana. President Trump has assured me that he will support a federalism-based legislative solution to fix this states’ rights issue once and for all.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in April that the president supports states’ rights.

Sanders said, “The president is a firm believer” in states’ rights.