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Marijuana advocates have been waiting anxiously for this day: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) have released their draft bill to federally legalize marijuana<\/a>. But the issue has touched off a number of controversies, and White House support remains in question.<\/p>\n Beyond ending the decades-long prohibition on cannabis, the proposed legislation contains a litany of other provisions to promote social equity, facilitate research and repair the harms of criminalization. The three senators unveiled the 163-page bill at a press conference on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is monumental because, at long last, we are taking steps in the Senate to right the wrongs of the failed war on drugs,\u201d Schumer said. \u201cI was the first Democratic leader to come out for the legalization of marijuana, and I will use my clout as majority leader to make this a priority in the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n For decades, young people have been arrested and jailed for carrying even a small amount of marijuana.<\/p>\n It’s long past time for change.<\/p>\n I\u2019m standing today with @RonWyden<\/a> and @SenBooker<\/a> to release our draft of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act.<\/p>\n \u2014 Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 14, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The legislation was not included as part of the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package that Senate Democrats agreed to earlier this week, with Schumer saying at the press conference that \u201cwe don\u2019t have the votes necessary at this point\u201d to pass cannabis legalization even with a reduced 50-vote threshold\u00a0under the fiscal maneuver.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is going to be a process,\u201d the majority leader said. \u201cThis is a draft bill. We intend to show it to all of the stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n In the meantime, Schumer said that the White House \u201cknows we are introducing this legislation, and we intend to show them the draft legislation and ask them to support it.\u201d<\/p>\n Booker said at the briefing that the country is \u201cin the midst of a grievous moment of injustice, and it is deep at the core of who we say we are: Equal justice under law.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have waited too long we\u2019ve seen the disaster of prohibition once before in this nation,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is hurting every American.\u201d<\/p>\n Joining @SenSchumer<\/a> & @RonWyden<\/a> to announce our legislative draft that will: \u2014 Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) July 14, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The senator, who previously sponsored a separate legalization bill titled the Marijuana Justice Act, also responded forcefully to a reporter\u2019s question<\/a> about whether cannabis banking reform could be pursued before a comprehensive proposal like the one they unveiled on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Booker said he \u201cwill lay myself down\u201d to block any other senators who seek to pass marijuana banking legislation, arguing that it would only accomplish further enriching of people in a multi-billion industry without addressing the harms of the drug war.<\/p>\n Wyden, for his part, said on Wednesday that, \u201cfor the life of me, I don\u2019t understand how Republicans who say they\u2019re for states\u2019 rights won\u2019t support what my colleagues are talking about because what this bill does is we decriminalize federal level, but we don\u2019t require states to legalize.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Watch the conversation about the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act in the video below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The main features of the legislation<\/a> largely align with what advocates and stakeholders expected. It would federally deschedule cannabis, expunge prior convictions, allow people to petition for resentencing, maintain the authority of states to set their own marijuana policies and remove collateral consequences like immigration-related penalties for people who\u2019ve been criminalized over the plant.ma<\/p>\n The bill<\/a> would also impose a federal tax on marijuana products and put some of that revenue toward grant programs meant to support people from communities most impacted by prohibition who want to participate in the industry.<\/p>\n Further, the legislation would transfer regulatory authority over cannabis from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).<\/p>\n Many more details on the bill are summarized in Marijuana Moment\u2019s analysis published earlier on Wednesday.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n During an interview on NBC\u2019s Today Show that aired on Wednesday morning, Schumer was asked whether he had the votes for passage. He responded: \u201cWe\u2019re working on it.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s a new push from Senate Democrats to legalize marijuana at the federal level. @gabegutierrez<\/a> has the exclusive details. pic.twitter.com\/zCSXNHrIgu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 14, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The majority leader also spoke on the Senate floor, stating that \u201cAmericans\u2019 attitudes towards marijuana have undergone a dramatic transformation\u201d in recent decades.<\/p>\n \u2014 \u201cThe states are supposed to be our laboratory for democracy and, by all accounts, these experiments have been a success,\u201d he said. \u201cThe doom and gloom predictions of the naysayers\u2014\u2019oh crime will go way up, drug use will go way up\u2019\u2014have never, never materialized.\u201d<\/p>\n The legislation immediately drew mixed reactions from advocates, other lawmakers and the White House.<\/p>\n Minutes after the senators\u2019 press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked<\/a> at her own daily briefing about the administration\u2019s position on the legislation.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing has changed,\u201d regarding President Joe Biden\u2019s longstanding opposition to legalizing marijuana, \u201cand there\u2019s no new endorsements of legislation to report today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), another longtime opponent of broad cannabis reform, also pushed back on the bill.<\/p>\n \u201cThis new bill puts the cart before the horse. It\u2019s important that we have robust research and fully understand the good and the bad of marijuana use, especially in young people and over the long term,\u201d he said in a press release, saying that his own legislation to expand studies on cannabis would be a better \u201cfirst step before we adopt such sweeping reforms.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSubstance aside, if my colleagues are planning to bring this bill up, legislative changes of this size need to move through regular order in committee,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n .@ChuckGrassley<\/a> on the draft legislation, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act: \u201cThis new bill puts the cart before the horse\u2026My research-focused bill with Senator Feinstein has passed the Senate before, and ought to be the first step.\u201dhttps:\/\/t.co\/GbC2pNHryX<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Senate Judiciary Republicans (@SenJudiciaryGOP) July 14, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Legalization advocacy groups generally expressed support for the measure, though some pointed to areas where they believe it can be improved.<\/p>\n The Drug Policy Alliance said that while it is grateful for the bill\u2019s general focus on social equity and reparative justice, it opposes \u201cexclusionary language\u201d that could block some people with prior cannabis-related convictions from getting required federal permits to operate legally in the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cIn order for this bill to truly end marijuana prohibition in a comprehensive way and begin to repair the egregious harms of the past, we cannot continue to make room for some to be left out because of laws that were unjust and racist to begin with,\u201d Maritza Perez, director of the group\u2019s Office of National Affairs, said in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n Amber Littlejohn, executive director of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, called the bill \u201cthoughtful and comprehensive\u201d and said it \u201crepresents an historic step on the path to federal cannabis legalization.\u201d<\/p>\n Steven Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said \u201cit is time to respect the will of the American people and legalize cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n He called the draft \u201ca promising first step towards Senate passage, and hopeful that it will lead to negotiations and bipartisan support for an inclusive and equitable legal cannabis industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana, for its part, unsurprisingly slammed the general concept of legalization but indicated it perhaps views comprehensive reform as inevitable by floating several specific suggestions for a revised measure\u2014including a potency cap, a ban on advertising and the exclusion of alcohol and tobacco companies from the cannabis industry.<\/p>\n See the full letter from SAM’s Science Advisory Board here: https:\/\/t.co\/o2xop1zUMx<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 SAM (@learnaboutsam) July 14, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The sponsors have made clear they are open to suggestions for how the draft proposal can be improved, and they are actively inviting public feedback. For example, they\u2019re especially interested in hearing about measuring cannabis potency, coordinating federal and state law enforcement responsibilities and balancing efforts to reduce barriers to entry to the marijuana industry while mitigating the influence of illicit cannabis operators.<\/p>\n Interested parties are encouraged to submit comments on these and other issues to\u00a0Cannabis_Reform@finance.senate.gov<\/a>\u00a0by September 1.<\/p>\n The hope is that the public comment period will help build buy-in from stakeholders and lawmakers, getting them closer to the 60-vote threshold they need to pass the legislation in the Senate. By the looks of it, it\u2019s going to be a tough battle that will require significant negotiations to push legalization across the finish line in the chamber, despite Democrats having a slim majority.<\/p>\n In recent months, Schumer has been making the case for reform everywhere from a speech on the Senate floor on 4\/20<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0a cannabis rally in New York City<\/a>.<\/p>\n The three senators formally started their efforts on the legalization bill by holding a meeting earlier this year with representatives from a variety of advocacy groups to\u00a0gain feedback on the best approach to the reform<\/a>.<\/p>\n Schumer made a point in March to say that it will specifically seek to restrict the ability of large alcohol and tobacco companies to overtake the industry. Instead,\u00a0it will prioritize small businesses<\/a>, particularly those owned by people from communities most impacted by prohibition, and focus on \u201cjustice, justice, justice\u2014as well as freedom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He also urged voters to reach out to their congressional representatives and tell them that \u201cthis is long overdue.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0a separate House bill to federally legalize marijuana<\/a>\u00a0and promote social equity in the industry was reintroduced in May.<\/p>\n The legislation, sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), was filed with a number of changes compared to the version that was\u00a0approved by the chamber last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act passed the House but did not advance in the Senate under GOP control. But this time around, advocates are optimistic that the policy change could be enacted now that Democrats run both chambers and the White House, and as more states are moving to enact legalization.<\/p>\n President Joe Biden, however, is an outlier within the Democratic Party,\u00a0maintaining an opposition to adult-use legalization<\/a>\u00a0despite the widespread and increasingly bipartisan public popularity of the reform. It remains to be seen whether the president\u2014who campaigned on more modest pledges to decriminalize cannabis possession, expunge prior records and respect state legalization laws\u2014would stand in the way of a comprehensive policy change by threatening to veto the bill that\u2019s ultimately produced.<\/p>\n Wyden, who under the chamber\u2019s new Democratic majority assumed the top spot on the Senate Finance Committee\u2014where the new legislation is likely to be referred once formally introduced\u2014recently said his goal will be to \u201cend the prohibition and come up with sensible tax and regulatory oversight at the federal level.\u201d<\/p>\n He said in February that \u201cit\u2019s not enough in my view to just end cannabis prohibition,\u201d and \u201cI think we need to restore the lives of people who\u2019ve been hurt most by the failed war on drugs and especially black Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n All three senators\u2014Schumer, Wyden and Booker\u2014have in past years introduced marijuana legalization bills that never got hearings or votes.<\/p>\n Separately, a proposal to federally deschedule marijuana that does not include social equity components was\u00a0recently filed by a pair of Republican congressmen.<\/a><\/p>\n California Bill To Legalize Psychedelics Possession Advances Again, With New Amendments That Add Limits<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Image element courtesy of Tim Evanson<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Senators Unveil Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill To Mixed Reviews, With White House Remaining Opposed<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Marijuana advocates have been waiting anxiously for this day: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) have released their draft bill to federally legalize marijuana. But the issue has touched off a number of controversies, and White House supportContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":48859,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48858"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48860,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48858\/revisions\/48860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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![\"✅\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/2705.png\")
Legalize marijuana![\"✅\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/2705-1.png\")
Expunge marijuana arrest records![\"✅\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/2705-2.png\")
Reinvest in communities most harmed by the drug war
It\u2019s past time we take steps to fix decades of failed drug policy. https:\/\/t.co\/SyrwUy9Liq<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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\n\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\nReaction to the bill<\/h2>\n
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Lawmakers invite feedback<\/h2>\n
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\nRead More: Senators Unveil Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill To Mixed Reviews, With White House Remaining Opposed<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"