{"id":53931,"date":"2022-03-30T09:03:22","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T17:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/03\/30\/pro-legalization-gop-congressmans-office-explains-opposition-to-marijuana-bill-and-offers-resources-to-colleagues\/"},"modified":"2022-03-30T17:45:37","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T01:45:37","slug":"pro-legalization-gop-congressmans-office-explains-opposition-to-marijuana-bill-and-offers-resources-to-colleagues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/03\/30\/pro-legalization-gop-congressmans-office-explains-opposition-to-marijuana-bill-and-offers-resources-to-colleagues\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-Legalization GOP Congressman\u2019s Office Explains Opposition To Marijuana Bill And Offers Resources To Colleagues"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

As the House prepares to vote on a bill to federally legalize marijuana<\/a> this week, the office of a key Republican congressman who supports ending federal prohibition circulated a letter to fellow GOP members on Wednesday offering guidance on the current \u201ccannabis policy landscape\u201d while explaining why he intends to vote against the Democratic\u2013led reform legislation as drafted.<\/p>\n

The letter from the office of Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, says he remains willing to \u201cserve a resource for anyone looking to talk through\u201d marijuana policy issues as the chamber gets ready for a floor vote on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY).<\/p>\n

This comes a month after Joyce separately sent a letter to Nadler expressing his commitment to \u201cending federal marihuana prohibition, enacting sensible regulations, and reversing the injustices that have resulted from nearly a century of cannabis criminalization.\u201d<\/p>\n

That letter to the sponsor says that the \u201coutlook for substantial and immediate reform has grown immensely more positive since I first engaged on this issue in 2013. However, it remains clear that at this juncture, any effort on cannabis reform must have substantial bipartisan support to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLuckily, as the breadth of cannabis related legislation introduced in the past year alone indicates, this is neither a Democrat nor a Republican issue. It\u2019s a bipartisan one,\u201d Joyce said, adding that he is \u201cwilling and ready to work with you to refine the MORE Act so that it can garner adequate bipartisan support.\u201d<\/p>\n

It does not appear that the offer was taken up, as the newer letter from Joyce\u2019s office to GOP congressional staff makes clear that, from his perspective, the MORE Act in its current form is unworkable. The bill has remain mostly unchanged, but for a few technical amendments, since it was reintroduced last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the Cannabis Caucus Republican Co-Chair, Congressman Joyce wants to be sure all GOP offices are equipped with any cannabis information they need,\u201d the letter says. \u201cCongressman Joyce is opposed to the MORE Act for a few reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those reasons include opposition to provisions of the MORE Act that \u201cwould punish those who have made a point to operate legally at their own personal cost, by placing an additional tax on legal operators to pay for the cost of industry access for illegal operators.\u201d<\/p>\n

This appears to refer to components of Nadler\u2019s bill that are meant to allocate portions of cannabis tax revenue to promoting participation in the industry by communities disproportionately impacted by prohibition\u2014an equity concept that has been routinely touted by many advocates as a key component of any legislation to legalize marijuana.<\/p>\n

Joyce\u2019s office also said the congressman takes issue with what is described as a lack of a \u201cresponsible regulatory framework upon ending federal prohibition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter states that, \u201cif [the MORE Act is] enacted, individual states would be left to sort out issues typically reserved for federal agencies, such as labeling requirements and safety instructions.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also addresses GOP members who are interested in engaging on marijuana policy issues but oppose the MORE Act, pointing them to legislation Joyce sponsored titled the Common Sense Cannabis Reform Act. That bill would federally deschedule cannabis and direct federal agencies to regulate marijuana<\/a> similar to how they treat alcohol, among other provisions.<\/p>\n

That legislation is \u201cthe only Republican-led comprehensive cannabis reform bill that does not include any MORE Act provisions,\u201d the letter says, seemingly contrasting it with a GOP-led legalization bill sponsored by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC)<\/a> that does include some components that are similar to the MORE Act.<\/p>\n

Both GOP-led bills, like the MORE Act, however, would deschedule cannabis.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the Republican leader on this issue, Congressman Joyce has worked for years to educate his Republican colleagues on cannabis reform,\u201d Katherine Sears, communications director for Joyce, said in a statement to Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is determined to make the conversation surrounding the MORE Act among Republicans a responsible dialogue about the inevitable end to prohibition and help other conservatives engage on this important issue,\u201d she said. \u201cHis efforts ensure that a conservative voice in favor of cannabis reform is leading this conversation, rather than those who wish to keep our arcane and misguided federal cannabis policies in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the House Republican Policy Committee (RPC) also distributed a letter to GOP members on Wednesday that puts in no uncertain terms its opposition to legalizing and regulating marijuana in general.<\/p>\n

It says that \u201cDemocrats remain silent on the negative consequences of marijuana legalization and use before the vote on the MORE Act,\u201d citing selective research on potential health consequences of marijuana use, the impact of reform on traffic safety and more.<\/p>\n

Both the letter from Joyce\u2019s office and the House RPC come hours before the House Rules Committee is set to take up a litany of proposed amendments to the MORE Act<\/a>, most of which are sponsored by GOP members to add various restrictions and penalties.<\/p>\n

When the\u00a0MORE Act<\/a> reaches the floor, it will mark the second time in history that cannabis legalization legislation has been taken up by a full chamber of Congress. An earlier version of the bill passed the House in 2020, but stalled in the Senate. Then it passed again this session in the House Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n

Following the announcement that the House would again be voting on the MORE Act, the majority and minority leaders of the Judiciary Committee\u00a0then released a nearly 500-page report<\/a>\u00a0on what the legislation would accomplish and outlining arguments for and against the reform.<\/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\u00a0recently said the plan is to file that bill<\/a>\u2014the\u00a0Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (CAOA)\u2014in April.<\/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\u00a0a 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

Congressional researchers separately released a report recently that\u00a0details the challenges posed by ongoing federal prohibition<\/a>\u00a0and the options that lawmakers have available to address them.<\/p>\n

Read the full text of the letter from Joyce\u2019s office:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Subject:<\/strong>\u00a0MORE on the floor<\/p>\n

LDs,<\/p>\n

With the MORE Act vote coming up I wanted to touch base again here to reiterate our office\u2019s willingness to serve a resource for anyone looking to talk through the cannabis policy landscape. As the Cannabis Caucus Republican Co-Chair, Congressman Joyce wants to be sure all GOP offices are equipped with any cannabis information they need. Congressman Joyce is opposed to the MORE Act for a few reasons including:<\/p>\n