II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1790

To amend the Controlled Substances Act to increase the penalties for the

manufacture, distribution, and possession of marihuana, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 22, 1996

Mr. MCCONNELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Controlled Substances Act to increase the

penalties for the manufacture, distribution, and possession of marihuana, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Enhanced Marihuana

5 Penalty Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the number of children in the United States

9 between 12 and 17 years of age using marihuana in-
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1 creased from 1,600,000 in 1992 to 2,900,000 in

2 1994, which constitutes an 80 percent increase;

3 (2) currently, one-third of all high school sen4 iors smoke marihuana;

5 (3) the perception of the dangers of using mari6 huana is declining among youthful marihuana smok7 ers;

8 (4) scientific research has demonstrated that—

9 (A) marihuana impairs short-term mem10 ory, core motor functions, and the ability to

11 concentrate;

12 (B) THC, the principal psychoactive ingre13 dient of marihuana, may cause drug depend14 ency;

15 (C) regular marihuana use may cause

16 chronic bronchitis, increased frequency of acute

17 chest illness, heightened risk of pulmonary in18 fection, and lung disease; and

19 (D) prenatal exposure to marihuana may

20 cause impaired intellectual ability in young chil21 dren;

22 (5) children between the ages of 12 and 17 who

23 use marihuana are 85 times more likely to use co24 caine than children who do not use marihuana;
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1 (6) there are 39,000,000 children in the United

2 States who are younger than 10 years old, and ne3 glect of our Nation’s marihuana problem will lead to

4 the creation of a new generation of drug abusers,

5 prone to criminal and other socially deviant behav6 ior; and

7 (7) existing penalties for trafficking in mari8 huana are inadequate to deter those who sell mari9 huana to our Nation’s most vulnerable citizens.

10 SEC. 3. PENALTIES.

11 (a) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.—Section

12 401(b)(1) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C.

13 841(b)(1)) is amended—

14 (1) in subparagraph (A)(vii), by striking ‘‘1000

15 kilograms’’ and inserting ‘‘100 kilograms’’;

16 (2) in subparagraph (B)(vii), by striking ‘‘100

17 kilograms’’ and inserting ‘‘10 kilograms’’; and

18 (3) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘50 kilo19 grams’’ and inserting ‘‘10 kilograms’’.

20 (b) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES IMPORT AND EXPORT

21 ACT.—Section 1010(b) of the Controlled Substances Im22 port and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960(b)) is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (1)(G), by striking ‘‘1000 kilo24 grams’’ and inserting ‘‘100 kilograms’’;
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1 (2) in paragraph (2)(G), by striking ‘‘100 kilo2 grams’’ and inserting ‘‘10 kilograms’’; and

3 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘50 kilo4 grams’’ and inserting ‘‘10 kilograms’’.

5 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT OF SENTENCING GUIDELINES.

6 The United States Sentencing Commission shall

7 amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to reflect the

8 amendments made by this Act.

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