Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Aug 11, 2025

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Voices Support For Decriminalizing Psychedelics and comprehensive marijuana legalization

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Voices Support For Decriminalizing Psychedelics and comprehensive marijuana legalization

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called for decriminalizing the use of and research on psychedelics, as well as comprehensive marijuana legalization, in a video message played for a drug policy reform conference on Thursday.

At the opening plenary of the International Drug Policy Reform Conference, organizers played the video, in which the congresswoman offered a welcome and voiced support for the reforms that advocates participating in the event are fighting for.

“I’m very thankful to have been working with the Drug Policy Alliance throughout this year to introduce and work on several different amendments and pieces of legislation to make our lives better,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “That includes things like moving money out of the DEA and into overdose treatment programs, as well as really examining some of the ways that we can also decriminalize the use and study of psychedelic compounds for medicinal applications and future policies.”



Earlier this year, the congresswoman introduced an amendment to a spending bill that would have lifted a rider prohibiting the use of federal funds to promote the legalization of Schedule I drugs. She said the purpose of the measure would be to bolster research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics in particular. However, the House rejected the proposal in a floor vote.

The other legislation Ocasio-Cortez mentioned is another amendment she introduced that would redirect $5 million from the DEA to an opioid treatment program. That measure was adopted in the House version of an appropriations bill, but it was not included in the Senate version.

The congresswoman also discussed efforts to end federal cannabis prohibition in the video played for advocates at the conference.

“I am so encouraged and glad that all of you are here, and know that we are fighting shoulder-to-shoulder in the fight to not only decriminalize marijuana, to not only legalize marijuana, but to do so in a way that is just, that is humane, that doesn’t exacerbate so many of the injustices from the war on drugs and to make sure that we’re also addressing policy on a much wider and broader level so that working families across the country are no longer criminalized and that we’re not treating marijuana and other drug issues as criminal justice issues but that we’re treating them as public health issues.”

Dan Riffle, senior policy advisor to Ocasio-Cortez, is speaking on a panel at the reform conference in st. Louis, which involves attendees from more than 50 countries. That discussion will focus on the evolving politics of cannabis issues in Congress.

“Thank you for being part of this conversation,” the congresswoman said in the video. “There’s no way that we could do it without everyone at the table and to make sure that we do it justly so that communities of color are not left behind.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
×