*By Jacqueline Corba*
Voters are effectively pressuring lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to publicly support the easing cannabis laws, said the deputy director of the National Organization for Marijuana Laws.
In an interview Tuesday with Cheddar, the deputy director, Paul Armentano said politicians were realizing that marijuana enjoyed greater popularity than they did.
"With the midterm elections approaching, more and more members of Congress from both parties now acknowledge that advocating for marijuana policy reform is not a political liability, rather its a political opportunity," said Armentano.
Last Friday ー on 4/20, of all days ー Sen. Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, introduced a bill to decriminalize weed. A few days earlier, the majority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, had introduced a bill to remove hemp from the list of controlled substances.
Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to stop using federal anti-drug laws to block medical marijuana research. And even President Trump changed his tune last week when he promised Sen. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican, he would support legal protections in states where marijuana is legal.
A majority of Americans ー 60 percent, according to a Pew Research Center poll ー said they support marijuana legalization.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/inside-the-momentum-driving-politicians-to-back-cannabis).
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is launching a new global program called "Generation Equality: Realizing women's rights for an equal future," a partnership between UN Women, the World Economic Forum, the private sector, and Gates Foundation.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney from Utah told Cheddar he would be interested in hearing from John Bolton as the president's impeachment trial defense headed into its final day.
Speaking before Trump's attorneys begin their final day of defense arguments in the impeachment trial Schumer maintained Democrats would not bargain on witnesses.
U.S. officials say President Donald Trump's long-awaited Middle East peace plan calls for the creation of a State of Palestine with its capital in portions of east Jerusalem.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, January 28, 2020.
The Republican senator from Texas gave some indication that he was curious about the alleged bombshell manuscript by former national security advisor John Bolton that might further implicate President Trump in his trial.
Trump's lawyers on Monday brushed past the extraordinary allegations in the draft of a new book by his former national security adviser as the legal team made historical and legal arguments for acquittal.
GOP and Dem senators offered different reactions to a bombshell New York Times report that ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton wrote in a manuscript that President Trump told him that he froze aid to Ukraine in exchange for a Biden investigation.
U.S. stocks fell sharply Monday as investors worry about the potential economic impact of the outbreak of a new virus from China. The declines in the U.S. followed a sell-off in markets in Europe and Japan.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
