Democratic congressional lawmakers convened for a policy retreat in Philadelphia on Thursday that featured a panel on advancing marijuana reform with a focus on promoting equity, multiple sources familiar with the closed-to-press session told Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) moderated the cannabis panel, which largely centered on the need to ensure that those most impacted by prohibition can benefit from federal legalization. The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, sponsored by House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), was specifically discussed as advocates push for a floor vote on the proposal this month.<\/p>\n
A Democratic congressional staffer familiar with the panel told Marijuana Moment that \u201cthe congresswoman\u2019s feeling is still that racial justice and restorative justice needs to be at the centerpiece of any cannabis legislation that we put forward,\u201d referring to Lee.<\/p>\n
Notably, the\u00a0event took place the day after\u00a0the Democratic-controlled House approved a large-scale spending bill<\/a> that continues a long-standing appropriations rider blocking Washington, D.C. from allowing cannabis commerce despite local voters\u2019 approval of legalization at the ballot in 2014.<\/p>\n Despite that legislative setback for reform, sources emphasized that the panel discussion at the retreat focused on ensuring that equity is a focal point of any broader legalization legislation that advances on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n Supernova Women Executive Director Amber Senter, who is a constituent of Lee\u2019s and participated on the panel, told Marijuana Moment that there was extensive discussion about equity programs and clearing up misconceptions about who would qualify for equity benefits under proposed legalization legislation.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m an operator and owner of a cannabis business in Oakland. And I wanted the lawmakers to understand the difference between social equity and black business,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause a lot of the lawmakers believe that they\u2019re all the same\u2014that if you\u2019re a black person, you qualify for social equity, and that\u2019s simply not true.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey were shocked. They were very intrigued, very engaged and want to follow up to learn how to protect black business,\u201d Senter said.<\/p>\n Attendees seemed \u201cvery willing and open to learning more information about what\u2019s happening from the operators\u2019 perspective,\u201d she said. \u201cThat was very encouraging. Lots of times in these types of settings, it\u2019s policymakers that are speaking to the legislators, and they rarely get to hear from the operators on the ground who are affected by all these policies.\u201d<\/p>\n Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA) Executive Director Amber Littlejohn, who also participated in the session, told Marijuana Moment that \u201cit is encouraging to see House Democrats continue to consider this issue\u2014important enough to dedicate this type of time and thought to it\u201d at the retreat.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s particularly encouraging that the panelists that were there were folks that are really centered on equity and ensuring that, as we legalize, it will be rooted in equity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n That point was echoed by Maritza Perez, another panelist who serves as director of the office of national affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance. She told Marijuana Moment that the MORE Act \u201ccontinues to be the most far-reaching bill that addresses social equity in marijuana in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n Also speaking on the panel was the Brookings Institution\u2019s John Hudak.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time that congressional Democrats have put marijuana reform on the agenda for similar closed-door retreats. In 2019, Lee and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)\u2014who are both co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus\u2014also moderated a panel raising the issue to colleagues<\/a>.<\/p>\n The agenda for that event touched on everything from the consequences of cannabis criminalization to frameworks that states have established as they\u2019ve moved to enact legalization.<\/p>\n While it remains to be seen whether House leadership will put the MORE Act back on the floor this month, as advocates are pushing for<\/a>, the bill did clear the Judiciary Committee in September<\/a>. It passed the full chamber last session in a historic vote<\/a> in 2020.<\/p>\n Ahead of Thursday\u2019s Democratic caucus retreat, a GOP congressman, Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), made a dismissive comment about the opposite party\u2019s legislative priorities.<\/p>\n As questions were being raised about the timeline for the Democratic retreat amid negotiations over omnibus legislation, he made a sarcastic comment on Twitter: \u201cOh no! Will this delay the drag show or the discussion on racial equity in the cannabis industry?\u201d<\/p>\n Oh no! Will this delay the drag show or the discussion on racial equity in the cannabis industry? https:\/\/t.co\/aNOWxU0v1n<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) March 9, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Meanwhile, advocates and stakeholders are eagerly awaiting the formal introduction of a separate Senate legalization bill that\u2019s being finalized by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) etc. Schumer recently said the plan is to file that bill<\/a>\u2014the\u00a0Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (CAOA)\u2014in April.<\/p>\n But in the meantime, Schumer\u2019s home state of New York is taking bold steps to prioritize those most affected by prohibition, with state regulators on Thursday advancing a rule<\/a> to make it so people with prior marijuana convictions, or whose family members have been harmed by criminalization, will get the first round of adult-use marijuana retailer licenses\u2014ahead of existing medical cannabis businesses.<\/p>\n In Congress, a separate bill to tax and regulate marijuana is also in play this session. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is sponsoring that legislation, and she said in a recent interview that she\u2019s received assurances from Democratic leaders that her States Reform Act will receive a hearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Federal Transportation Agency Proposes New Marijuana Testing Policies To Reduce False Positives<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Image element courtesy of Tim Evanson<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Congressional Democrats Elevate Marijuana Equity Issues At Retreat Panel Focused On Legalization<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Democratic congressional lawmakers convened for a policy retreat in Philadelphia on Thursday that featured a panel on advancing marijuana reform with a focus on promoting equity, multiple sources familiar with the closed-to-press session told Marijuana Moment. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) moderated the cannabis panel, which largely centered on the needContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"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\/53486"}],"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=53486"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53487,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53486\/revisions\/53487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Congressional Democrats Elevate Marijuana Equity Issues At Retreat Panel Focused On Legalization<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"