{"id":52623,"date":"2022-01-31T07:54:59","date_gmt":"2022-01-31T15:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/01\/31\/schumer-gives-update-on-federal-marijuana-legalization-and-banking-in-meeting-with-equity-advocates\/"},"modified":"2022-01-31T13:45:43","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T21:45:43","slug":"schumer-gives-update-on-federal-marijuana-legalization-and-banking-in-meeting-with-equity-advocates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/01\/31\/schumer-gives-update-on-federal-marijuana-legalization-and-banking-in-meeting-with-equity-advocates\/","title":{"rendered":"Schumer Gives Update On Federal Marijuana Legalization And Banking In Meeting With Equity Advocates"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) held a meeting with a variety of marijuana reform and other advocacy groups last week to discuss social equity issues as he prepares to introduce a much-anticipated cannabis legalization bill this year.<\/p>\n

While activists involved in the Tuesday meeting told Marijuana Moment that Schumer again gave vague details about the timeline for filing the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), saying it will be done \u201csoon,\u201d he did say that he also expects committee hearings to follow after its introduction.<\/p>\n

Marijuana banking, immigration issues related to cannabis and the implementation of New York\u2019s adult-use marijuana program were also discussed at the Zoom meeting, which lasted a little under an hour.<\/p>\n

Schumer characterized the discussion as an \u201cexciting meeting on social equity in federal marijuana reform\u201d in a tweet on Friday. \u201cWe\u2019re working to end the prohibition & ensure equity for communities impacted by the War on Drugs\u2014[especially] communities of color.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Exciting meeting on social equity in federal marijuana reform with @DrugPolicyOrg<\/a> @crc_coalition<\/a> @ImmDefense<\/a> @WomenGrow<\/a> @VOCALNewYork<\/a> @ROCNORML<\/a> @cbcounsel<\/a><\/p>\n

We’re working to end the prohibition & ensure equity for communities impacted by the War on Drugs\u2014esp. communities of color<\/p>\n

\u2014 Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 28, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Representatives of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC), Immigrant Defense Project, Women Grow, VOCAL-NY and Rochester NORML participated.<\/p>\n

\u201cSen. Schumer has consistently stood with small and minority-owned businesses. We were glad to share hard-earned lessons for how Congress can ensure that the communities most impacted by the war on drugs are set up for success,\u201d Shaleen Title, who attended as vice chair of CRCC<\/a>, told Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n

(Disclosure: Title supports Marijuana Moment\u2019s work through a monthly pledge on Patreon<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

The majority leader also acknowledged in the discussion that he\u2019s received some criticism from advocates over how long it\u2019s taken to file his legalization bill, but he and his Senate colleagues feel it\u2019s important to take their time to ensure that equity is effectively incorporated into the legislation before it begins the committee process.<\/p>\n

A Schumer staffer at the meeting described the plan as \u201cmoving as fast as possible without screwing this up,\u201d according to one participant who did not wish to be named.<\/p>\n

The senator also recognized that in his home state of New York, where regulators are in the process of implementing a commercial, adult-use market<\/a>, the system will not be comprehensively equitable until federal prohibition is lifted.<\/p>\n

The leader also weighed in on another issue that he\u2019s caught flack from advocates over: his insistence that comprehensive reform should be enacted first before taking the incremental step of passing a bipartisan bill to simply protect banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses.<\/p>\n

That position has frustrated some advocates and stakeholders who feel that enacting the banking reform is a politically achievable step that could promote public safety by allowing marijuana businesses to stop dealing in largely cash-based transactions that make them targets of crime. Most recently, Schumer was blamed for keeping the incremental reform out of a large-scale defense bill<\/a> following bicameral negotiations.<\/p>\n

In last week\u2019s meeting, however, the leader again signaled that he\u2019d be open to advancing the more modest policy change<\/a> if certain equity provisions would attached to it, for example providing incentives for minority deposit institutions or community development facilities to promote commercial lending\u2014a topic that CRCC chair Dasheeda Dawson also discussed in a recent op-ed for Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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If you were betting on \u201cgetting #socialequity<\/a> through SAFE Banking\u201dplease read this article I wrote. \"💁🏾‍♀️\"As I told @SenSchumer<\/a> last week, CRCC is here to support getting this right, not in theory, but in reality. We hold the line for equity & call-in all advocates aligned! https:\/\/t.co\/BS57D4j8Fz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Dasheeda Dawson (@DasheedaDawson) January 30, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cCRCC believes that any cannabis reform bill that moves forward should be centered in equity and justice, beginning with dismantling the drug war, repairing its impact, and preventing monopolies and oligopolies,\u201d Title said. \u201cWe made suggestions based on our experience as state regulators, including stressing the importance of access to capital as well as enforcement and watchdog-like tools to ensure equity measures are implemented as intended.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maritza Perez, director of national affairs for DPA, told Marijuana Moment that at the meeting Schumer made clear that he \u201cunderstands that social equity must be intentional and a key part of any marijuana bill that moves forward in Congress,\u201d and her organization \u201clooks forward to continuing to work with his office on a comprehensive marijuana bill that provides restitution to people and communities most devastated by marijuana prohibition.\u201d<\/p>\n

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We appreciate @SenSchumer<\/a>‘s commitment to marijuana justice & him ensuring social equity & restitution for our communities are what drive federal marijuana reform.<\/p>\n

Marijuana is still one of the top arrests in the US, causing harm every day. Let’s change that in 2022! https:\/\/t.co\/IO2hJH712t<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Drug Policy Alliance (@DrugPolicyOrg) January 28, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Late last year, Schumer emphasized that he wants to keep the \u201cbig boys\u201d out of the marijuana industry<\/a> in favor of creating opportunities for smaller operators when cannabis is federally legalized, and he said that his upcoming bill would accomplish that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want the big boys to come in,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cAfter all the pain that\u2019s been occurring in communities like the one you represent in Brooklyn, where I\u2019m from\u2014to have the big boys come in and make all the money makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s made similar remarks in the past, stressing that his reform bill will take specific steps to\u00a0restrict the ability of large alcohol and tobacco companies<\/a>\u00a0to overtake the industry.<\/p>\n

Schumer said in September that he and his colleagues have an \u201cagreement\u201d that the body will not take up cannabis banking legislation<\/a>\u00a0until more comprehensive legislation moves.<\/p>\n

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Congressman Files New Marijuana Banking Reform Amendment To Large-Scale House Bill<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The post Schumer Gives Update On Federal Marijuana Legalization And Banking In Meeting With Equity Advocates<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Schumer Gives Update On Federal Marijuana Legalization And Banking In Meeting With Equity Advocates<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) held a meeting with a variety of marijuana reform and other advocacy groups last week to discuss social equity issues as he prepares to introduce a much-anticipated cannabis legalization bill this year. While activists involved in the Tuesday meeting told Marijuana Moment that SchumerContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":52624,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52623"}],"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=52623"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52625,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52623\/revisions\/52625"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}