{"id":55502,"date":"2022-06-28T04:20:51","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T12:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/06\/28\/gop-congresswoman-takes-marijuana-victory-lap-after-primary-win-and-talks-next-steps-for-her-legalization-bill\/"},"modified":"2022-06-28T08:45:42","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T16:45:42","slug":"gop-congresswoman-takes-marijuana-victory-lap-after-primary-win-and-talks-next-steps-for-her-legalization-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/06\/28\/gop-congresswoman-takes-marijuana-victory-lap-after-primary-win-and-talks-next-steps-for-her-legalization-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Congresswoman Takes Marijuana Victory Lap After Primary Win And Talks Next Steps For Her Legalization Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Among members of the GOP congressional freshman class for the 117th Congress, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) quickly stood out for bucking the Republican status quo and filing a comprehensive bill to federally legalize marijuana<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was a move that generated headlines and endeared her to a coalition of allies who were pleased to see a GOP member take a bold stance on reform. But it also made her a target of cannabis-specific attacks<\/a>\u00a0from her primary opponent and a prohibitionist PAC, and it earned the congresswoman no favor with her home state\u2019s Republican party, which came out against her States Reform Act (SRA).<\/p>\n

Those attacks proved impotent, though<\/a>, and Mace told Marijuana Moment in a phone interview on Thursday that her robust with on primary election day was no coincidence. If anything, the opposition messaging gave her a platform to educate more people about the bipartisan appeal of ending prohibition and creating a regulatory infrastructure that supports small businesses and helps right the wrongs of prohibition. If a candidate is going to attack an opponent over cannabis reform in this day and age, she said, they\u2019re \u201cgoing to lose big.\u201d<\/p>\n

But despite the enthusiasm over the congresswoman\u2019s SRA, there\u2019s been little movement since its introduction last year with Democrats still narrowly holding control of both chambers and the White House. Leadership in the House passed its own legalization bill\u2014the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act\u2014in April. And Senate leadership is finalizing its own comprehensive reform proposal that is expected to be introduced ahead of the August recess.<\/p>\n

With time running short, and other legislative priorities taking precedence, Mace is tempering expectations about the prospect of a committee hearing on her bill this year despite previously saying she had been promised one<\/a>. That\u2019s in spite of the fact that, as she sees it, SRA is \u201cthe only game in town\u201d that could garner enough bipartisan support to be enacted anytime soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re willing to play ball. We are willing to work with anyone who\u2019s willing to work with us on both sides of the aisle to push it forward,\u201d she said. \u201cBut this is the only piece of legislation that has a chance of going anywhere this year or, quite frankly, next legislative session.\u201d<\/p>\n

What happens next legislative session is a big open question. The growing consensus is that Democrats stand to lose their majority in at least one chamber, and if the House flips, Mace says she has a plan to convince her reluctant GOP colleagues to move her bill. A Republican House majority could give her better leverage to advance SRA, which shares many fundamental provisions with Democratic-led legislation.<\/p>\n

Mace spoke with Marijuana Moment about her primary win in the face of cannabis attacks, the path forward for SRA, lessons learned trying to build bipartisan support for reform as a freshman congresswoman and more. The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n

Marijuana Moment: What does it say to you that you won your primary election despite being attacked over your support for cannabis legalization?<\/h4>\n

Nancy Mace: Well, it shows that the only place that this is controversial is in Washington, D.C., where they\u2019re still trying to promote prohibition and say this is a gateway drug, when it\u2019s not. The American people know better, and they\u2019re smarter than that. And actually, it gave us a real opportunity to have a real conversation about a plant that has so many benefits for so many people, not only in South Carolina, but across the country.<\/p>\n

So I utilized the issue as I was getting attacked in TV ads and digital ads, on social media, everywhere really on the issue. I used it as an opportunity to educate the public because I know how beneficial this is. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve been very passionate about. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve worked on as a state lawmaker before coming to Congress.<\/p>\n

But I also polled the hell out of it. This is after I did the States Reform Act, and understanding that the vast majority of conservatives, Republicans, left and right, people on both sides of the aisle, support the issue when it\u2019s done in a responsible way. And that\u2019s what I think what people really just want to see\u2014that responsibility, that common sense, where we have common ground and moving it forward.<\/p>\n

So for us, I look at every challenge as an opportunity. And I used it as an opportunity to educate people on what the bill did and did not do. When you explain that to people, they\u2019re like, \u201cYeah, I get it, that makes sense. And that\u2019s something I totally support.\u201d It goes to show that when you smear your opponent, you lie about them, when you attack them on an issue that\u2019s wildly popular, even with the base, that you\u2019re gonna lose and you\u2019re gonna lose big and really didn\u2019t affect the outcome of the race, despite the attacks. In fact, my opponent\u2019s first ad had an attack that was, you know, calling me high and telling me I need to get a drug test and all those things. And it just didn\u2019t stick. It didn\u2019t work and was not effective.<\/p>\n

It just goes to show how out of touch many people who are in office, or trying to get in office, really are on the issue.<\/p>\n

MM: You\u2019ve talked about receiving a commitment from committee leadership to hold a hearing on SRA this year. Do you have any updates to that end?<\/h4>\n

NM: We had been promised a hearing on Oversight, but what we\u2019re seeing is we\u2019re up against the wall on the timeline. This is only June. However, there are less than 28 days now legislatively between now and the end of the year to get anything done. And so we\u2019re really pushing up against a deadline, and with the January 6 hearings that are going on, that is pushing back the prospective dates for us to have a hearing on Oversight. And so we are concerned about when that date will be in timing it. We were expecting to do it in July, but what the January 6 hearings, it\u2019s pushing everything back in it. And so we\u2019re looking at the only other option would be in September.<\/p>\n

So what [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)] does in the meantime, it\u2019s really hard to say. There\u2019s some discussion on what kind of bill may or may not come out of the Senate. And part of the discussion we\u2019re hearing this week is that any taxes or tax origination or creation in the Senate is going to be problematic for the bill. So whatever bill he does cannot include any tax provisions. That has to start in the House.<\/p>\n

And the only bill in the House right now is the States Reform Act. This is the only game in town, and we\u2019re willing to play. We are willing to work with anyone who\u2019s willing to work with us on both sides of the aisle to push it forward. But this is the only piece of legislation that has a chance of going anywhere this year, or quite frankly, next legislative session because the way it\u2019s been bungled, quite frankly, up until this juncture. The MORE Act has passed; it has no chance of getting through the Senate. If Schumer did the bill, it can\u2019t touch taxes, and that will not be good enough for him in the Senate. It\u2019s got to start over here in the House.<\/p>\n

The only thing standing right now is our legislation. We\u2019ve reached out to folks on both sides of the aisle. We\u2019re still pushing forward and and talking to Republicans and Democrats. We\u2019re still pushing for the hearing date and demanding those things that we\u2019ve been promised before because we want to move this forward. There\u2019s no reason why we need to sit on this and wait when we should be having debate, we should be looking at amendments that both sides of the aisle want to see on the legislation so that we know where we can start, starting in January when we hit the ground running with the next legislative session.<\/p>\n

MM: Speaking of January, if Republicans retake the majority in the House, what can you say about the role you plan to play in building buy-in, especially from your GOP colleagues who\u2019ve historically resisted legalization?<\/h4>\n

NM: We\u2019re going to sit down with leadership and get with them and figure out what the barometer is, both in the Senate and House. We want to sit down with leadership and have a role in pushing forward. If it\u2019s only going to be SAFE Banking, what\u2019s next? Because that is not good enough. What are the next barriers that we can remove for businesses? For the economy? For descheduling? For decriminalizing? What does that chessboard look like? What are the next provisions that we can be working on and advocating for to move this forward\u2014because it is past time to do something on this, and we want to have a leadership role.<\/p>\n

MM: You have a record championing cannabis reform in the South Carolina legislature, but I\u2019m curious what lessons you\u2019ve taken away so far in your first term in Congress when it comes to the challenges of building support for cannabis reform on Capitol Hill?<\/h4>\n

NM: It\u2019s us coming together and working hard, putting aside our differences, and it\u2019s very difficult for Congress to do. It\u2019s putting those differences aside on both sides of the aisle and saying this is a winning issue. This is an issue that the American people deeply care about, the vast majority of people care about, and it\u2019s very difficult. And it\u2019s not just this issue. It\u2019s across the board on everything\u2014whether we\u2019re talking about immigration, whether we\u2019re talking about Ukraine, whether we\u2019re talking about spending supply chain inflation\u2014is putting those differences aside and finding where small parts can make a big difference.<\/p>\n

And incrementally, even though, obviously, I would love to see a comprehensive reform package pass, but what can we do incrementally together? If comprehensive isn\u2019t the way to go, well then where do we agree? And let\u2019s find out. What are the next 2, 3, 5, 10 things\u201410 steps that we can take together and in what order to move the ball forward? And I don\u2019t hold grudges. I have no ill will towards anybody up here. I really, truly want to work together with folks.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what we tried to do with the SRA is show that this is a path\u2014that this is a viable path\u2014and we\u2019re willing to work with any office who wants to work with us to truly, meaningfully get this across the finish line. This is the way to do it in a non-partisan manner. This checks the box for the left and the right. It is such a good bill. But I don\u2019t care who does it. I\u2019m happy to pass it off to the next person who says, \u201chey, we\u2019ll work with you on this,\u201d and we\u2019ll figure out a way to slice and dice it and move it forward We\u2019re indifferent to that.<\/p>\n

We just want it to happen, and we want to show that there\u2019s a viable path forward. And we\u2019re going to continue to work hard and work together, even with offices that are trying to resist it and are trying to push back, who don\u2019t want to be a part of it. We\u2019re going to continue to make overtures and say that we\u2019re willing to work with anyone who\u2019s willing to work with us because that is a rare find in Congress. But that is the only way forward.<\/p>\n

MM: You\u2019ve been public about your own personal experience using marijuana as a therapeutic treatment option<\/a>. Do you feel like it would be easier to garner support for reform if more members similarly experienced firsthand the therapeutic benefits of cannabis?<\/h4>\n

NM: I do think so. I think data and information [shows] what does and does not happen, that our law enforcement\u2014they\u2019re not concerned or worried or tackling non-violent cannabis offenses. They have violent crimes, because violent crime is up across the country. I know in my district in South Carolina, we have shootings every week it seems like. We\u2019ve got real issues facing our nation right now, this just isn\u2019t one of them. And I also often tell the story about my kids who are middle school and high school and have friends who cannot drive, that are getting high coming to school every day. So clearly, what we\u2019ve done so far isn\u2019t working. But what will work, in putting guardrails in place, which my bill does, to protect our kids and keep them safe? Now those are the things that we ought to be talking about.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been very frank in conversations about what we can do to protect our children. And that, you know, violent crime doesn\u2019t increase when when [cannabis] is legalized in different states, and allowing states to do what they want, at whatever rate that they want to do it and protecting the rights of states to do that. We\u2019re seeing states incrementally approve medical and then adult use over time over the last 20 years. But giving those guardrails and giving a path, a responsible path forward, that allows people to create jobs and to be productive members of society and the economy and help get us out of the challenges we\u2019re facing today.<\/p>\n

And so I love the bill. I\u2019m super proud of it. It\u2019s one of the best pieces of legislation I\u2019ve ever worked on it. And I work in a lot of different areas. But it is a place where we can come together and find agreement, both conservatives and progressives alike. We\u2019ve got to do that not just for Washington, but we\u2019ve got to do it for our country. And our country is depending on it, and we\u2019ve got to move this thing forward, regardless of our differences.<\/p>\n

\n

Congressional Leaders Call For Psilocybin Policy Review, Hemp As A Plastic Alternative And Marijuana Product Research Access<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

The post GOP Congresswoman Takes Marijuana Victory Lap After Primary Win And Talks Next Steps For Her Legalization Bill<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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Among members of the GOP congressional freshman class for the 117th Congress, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) quickly stood out for bucking the Republican status quo and filing a comprehensive bill to federally legalize marijuana. It was a move that generated headlines and endeared her to a coalition of allies whoContinue 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\/55502"}],"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=55502"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55503,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55502\/revisions\/55503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}