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With a vote on a bill to federally legalize marijuana set for House floor consideration this week<\/a>, lawmakers on Thursday released a report on the legislation that effectively previews the partisan debate to come, with the majority and minority leaders of a key committee making their arguments for and against the reform.<\/p>\n The 483-page report prepared by the House Judiciary Committee provides an extensive overview of the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which is sponsored by the panel\u2019s chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY).<\/p>\n Leadership announced late last week that the bill to end federal prohibition would be taken up on the floor for the second time in congressional history. It passed the House in 2020 but saw no action in the Senate. Then, in September, it again cleared the sponsor\u2019s panel for the current session.<\/p>\n Before heading to the floor, there will be a House Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday, where members will decide whether any proposed amendments can be made in order. The hearing was initially scheduled for Monday but was pushed back two days over the weekend for unknown reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cEnforcement of marijuana laws has been a key driver of mass criminalization in the United States,\u201d the new report\u2019s background and need for legislation section states. \u201cThe drug war has produced profoundly unequal outcomes across racial groups, manifested through significant racial disparities throughout the criminal justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n It further describes the collateral consequences of cannabis arrests and convictions, including the possible loss of opportunities for employment, voting rights, housing, education, government assistance and more, saying that \u201cthese exclusions create an often-permanent second-class status for millions of Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike drug war enforcement itself, these consequences fall disproportionately on people of color,\u201d it says. \u201cFor non-citizens, a conviction can trigger deportation, sometimes with almost no possibility of discretionary relief.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToday, overcriminalized communities continue to suffer the consequences of failed drug policies, even in states that have legalized marijuana, where arrests have dropped for marijuana crimes. Public support for making marijuana legal has increased over the past two decades. The resulting trend in state-level legalization of marijuana has placed states in apparent conflict with federal law and, as a result, the Justice Department has struggled with how to continue to uphold federal law in this context.\u201d<\/p>\n The report<\/a> also touches on other unique challenges that state-legal marijuana industries face under the status quo of federal prohibition, including barriers to accessing financial services through traditional banking services which have resulted in public safety issues for cannabis businesses that have become targets of crime because many operate on a largely cash-only basis.<\/p>\n The MORE Act presents solutions to these challenges and would help align federal policy with those that have been enacted in a majority of states as the legalization movement continues to expand, the report authors wrote.<\/p>\n Separately from the report, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) wrote in a Dear Colleague letter<\/a> to fellow lawmakers that\u00a0 the MORE Act is \u201ccritical legislation that will restore justice to communities that have been disproportionately impacted by harsh penalties for possessing even small amounts of marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill is expected<\/a> to hit the floor sometime between Wednesday and Friday.<\/p>\n \u2014 A section-by-section analysis included in the extensive report describes the main components of the proposal. Here\u2019s a breakdown:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Nadler\u2019s MORE Act would deschedule marijuana by removing it from the list of federally banned drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). However, it would not require states to legalize cannabis and would maintain a level of regulatory discretion up to states.<\/p>\n Marijuana products would be subject to a federal excise tax, starting at five percent for the first two years after enactment and rising to eight percent by the fifth year of implementation.<\/p>\n Nobody could be denied federal public benefits based solely on the use or possession of marijuana or past juvenile conviction for a cannabis offense. Federal agencies couldn\u2019t use \u201cpast or present cannabis or marijuana use as criteria for granting, denying, or rescinding a security clearance.\u201d<\/p>\n People could not be penalized under federal immigration laws for any cannabis related activity or conviction, whether it occurred before or after the enactment of the legalization legislation.<\/p>\n The bill creates a process for expungements of non-violent federal marijuana convictions.<\/p>\n Tax revenue from cannabis sales would be placed in a new \u201cOpportunity Trust Fund.\u201d Half of those tax dollars would support a \u201cCommunity Reinvestment Grant Program\u201d under the Justice Department, 10 percent would support substance misuse treatment programs, 40 percent would go to the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) to support implementation and a newly created equitable licensing grant program.<\/p>\n The Community Reinvestment Grant Program would \u201cfund eligible non-profit community organizations to provide a variety of services for individuals adversely impacted by the War on Drugs\u2026to include job training, reentry services, legal aid for civil and criminal cases (including for expungement of cannabis convictions), among others.\u201d<\/p>\n The program would further support funding for substance misuse treatment for people from communities disproportionately impacted by drug criminalization. Those funds would be available for programs offering services to people with substance misuse disorders for any drug, not just cannabis.<\/p>\n While the bill wouldn\u2019t force states to adopt legalization, it would create incentives to promote equity. For example, SBA would facilitate a program to providing licensing grants to states and localities that have moved to expunge records for people with prior marijuana convictions or \u201ctaken steps to eliminate violations or other penalties for persons still under State or local criminal supervision for a cannabis-related offense or violation for conduct now lawful under State or local law.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill\u2019s proposed Cannabis Restorative Opportunity Program would provide funds \u201cfor loans to assist small business concerns that are owned and controlled by individuals adversely impacted by the War on Drugs in eligible States and localities.\u201d<\/p>\n The comptroller general, in consultation with the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), would be required to carry out a study on the demographics of people who have faced federal marijuana convictions, \u201cincluding information about the age, race, ethnicity, sex, and gender identity.\u201d<\/p>\n The departments of treasury, justice and the SBA would need to \u201cissue or amend any rules, standard operating procedures, and other legal or policy guidance necessary to carry out implementation of the MORE Act\u201d within one year of its enactment.<\/p>\n Marijuana producers and importers would also need to obtain a federal permit. And they would be subject to a $1,000 per year federal tax as well for each premise they operate.<\/p>\n The bill would impose certain packaging and labeling requirements.<\/p>\n It also prescribes penalties for unlawful conduct such as illegal, unlicensed production or importation of cannabis products.<\/p>\n The Treasury secretary would be required to carry out a study \u201con the characteristics of the cannabis industry, with recommendations to improve the regulation of the industry and related taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) would be required to \u201cregularly compile, maintain, and make public data on the demographics\u201d of marijuana business owners and workers.<\/p>\n Workers in \u201csafety sensitive\u201d positions, such as those regulated by the Department of Transportation, could continue to be drug tested for THC and face penalties for unauthorized use. Federal workers would also continue to be subject to existing drug testing policies.<\/p>\n References to \u201cmarijuana\u201d or \u201cmarihuana\u201d under federal statute would be changed to \u201ccannabis.\u201d It\u2019s unclear if that would also apply to the title of the bill itself.<\/p>\n The bulk of the nearly 500-page Judiciary Committee report is the text of existing federal statute of the CSA with conforming amendments. It\u2019s followed by a \u201ccommittee correspondence\u201d section, with letters from leadership of various panels to which the bill was referred waiving jurisdiction to clear the way for floor action.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s a \u201cminority views\u201d section, authored by Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-OH). What he wrote may provide a preview of the opposing arguments that could come to the fore when the bill is up for debate on the floor this week.<\/p>\n \u201cThis bill is an enormous federal subsidy and stimulus for the marijuana industry,\u201d it states. \u201cThis extreme and unwise bill would open the floodgates to marijuana cultivation, distribution, and sale within the United States\u2014allowing bad actors and transnational criminal organizations to further exploit America\u2019s addiction crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n It also complains that the legislation would create a \u201csignificant federal bureaucracy that would include new taxes, expansive grant programs, and a federal licensing regime.\u201d The minority view is that the reform would also \u201cincentivize bad actors and transnational criminal organizations to flood American streets with drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n The ranking member\u2019s report section says the MORE Act \u201cfails to set limitations on the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol in marijuana or its extracts or concentrates.\u201d But it seemingly contradicts itself by saying that while \u201csome states have placed limits on the tetrahydrocannabinol in marijuana concentrate products, none of the states that have legalized marijuana have placed any such restrictions.\u201d\u00a0 In fact, Vermont has enacted a THC potency limit on legal cannabis products.<\/p>\n The minority feels that the bill does not sufficiently address preventing youth marijuana consumption, including by declining to \u201cban flavored marijuana that may be appealing to teenagers.\u201d But as multiple studies and top federal drug officials have consistently pointed out, there hasn\u2019t been evidence that state-level legalization leads to increased underage use; rather, it appears that creating regulated marijuana markets where IDs are required for sale, for example, could deter teen usage.<\/p>\n \u201cH.R. 3617 would open the floodgates of marijuana cultivation, distribution, and sales throughout the United States with little to no controls whatsoever. Bad actors, domestic criminal enterprises, and transnational criminal organizations would exploit the numerous loopholes in this legislation. Moreover, this bill is an enormous federal subsidy and stimulus for the marijuana industry. Instead of holding hearings on the growing crisis at our southern border, the Democratic majority is focused on prioritizing legislation that would legalize marijuana. This bill is an extreme and unwise measure.\u201d<\/p>\n The last time the MORE Act went to the floor in December 2020, it passed in a 228-164 vote, with just five Republicans joining their Democratic colleagues in advancing the reform. One of those five GOP members, Rep. Don Young (R-AK),\u00a0died this month<\/a>. He was one of bipartisan co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.<\/p>\n The move to hold another vote on the cannabis legalization bill comes weeks after\u00a0congressional Democrats held a closed-to-press session at a party retreat<\/a>\u00a0that included a panel that largely centered on the reform legislation.<\/p>\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) and colleagues. Schumer recently said the plan is to file that bill<\/a>\u2014the\u00a0Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (CAOA)\u2014in April.<\/p>\n Also 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\u00a0her States Reform Act will receive a hearing<\/a> following the MORE Act floor vote.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, on the same day that it was announced that the MORE Act would be heading to the floor again, the Senate unanimously approved a bipartisan bill meant to promote research into marijuana<\/a>, in part by streamlining the application process for researchers who want to study the plant and to encourage the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop cannabis-derived medicines.<\/p>\n Top Congressman And Pro-Legalization BOWL PAC Send Joint Fundraising Email Ahead Of House Marijuana Vote<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Nearly 500-Page House Report On Marijuana Legalization Bill Previews Democratic And Republican Arguments<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
With a vote on a bill to federally legalize marijuana set for House floor consideration this week, lawmakers on Thursday released a report on the legislation that effectively previews the partisan debate to come, with the majority and minority leaders of a key committee making their arguments for and againstContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":53889,"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\/53888"}],"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=53888"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53890,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53888\/revisions\/53890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Nearly 500-Page House Report On Marijuana Legalization Bill Previews Democratic And Republican Arguments<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"