Pot activists to honor Sanders with trail-blazer award

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will receive an award from marijuana activists Monday evening for his efforts to legalize the drug.

The Democratic presidential candidate will be honored at the High Times Business Summit in Washington, D.C., with the group’s first-ever trail blazer award.

{mosads}Sanders, a self-desribed Democratic socialist, is backing legislation that would end the long-time federal prohibition on marijuana.

Currently, the federal government maintains a ban on marijuana — even in states that have legalized the drug.

The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act introduced last month by Sanders would remove the barriers for states that want to legalize recreational and medical marijuana without interference from the federal government. However, other states could still choose to prohibit pot.

“We need major changes in our criminal justice system — including changes in drug laws,” Sanders recently told students at Virginia’s George Mason University. “Too many Americans have seen their lives destroyed because they have criminal records as a result of marijuana use. That’s wrong. That has got to change.”