As a legislative priority for 2015, Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) announced plans to introduce legislation aimed at further reforming and reshaping our view of marijuana, calling into question its federal classification, as well as the wasted time and “countless billions” spent prohibiting it.

His accompanying speech pulled the rug from under legalization opponents in less than four minutes.

“For more than 70 years, our government has followed the most spectacular failure in policy since the disastrous 13 year experiment with the prohibition of alcohol,” Rep. Blumenauer said. 

Highlighting the vast disconnect between marijuana’s federal classification as a Schedule 1 substance with no medical application (where it’s filed next to heroin) and its widespread legal medical use in 23 states, as well as recreational legalization in four states, Blumenauer noted that “the sky didn’t fall, big cracks didn’t appear in the earth, and problems with marijuana didn’t get worse; in some instances they became more manageable.”

Blumenauer’s announcement comes on the heels of a potentially landmark case in California that could bring into question the federal classification of marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. 

To learn more about the economic benefits of marijuana, watch this video: