![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-37.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) says that Congress has a \u201cgood shot\u201d of passing modest marijuana reforms\u2014including banking and justice provisions\u2014during the lame duck session after the midterm elections. He also stressed that lawmakers might not have the same opportunity if Republicans retake either chamber next year.<\/p>\n
In an interview with NJ.com that was published on Monday, the senator said that leadership was engaged in \u201cactive negotiations\u201d over a package of cannabis proposals<\/a> before the August recess. And he recently discussed the legislation with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and felt that they\u2019d made \u201cprogress\u201d at the meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very likely that during the lame duck\u2014before the new Congress\u2014we\u2019re going to see a really good bipartisan attempt to move it,\u201d Booker said. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s not the [legalization] bill I wrote with Schumer and [Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR)], but an effort to tie in restorative justice and some fair banking provisions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it has a good chance because our Republican allies also understand that if one of the houses of Congress shifts to Republican, it will be very hard to do anything on marijuana,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a good shot. I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s a great shot, but it\u2019s on a good path.\u201d<\/p>\n He also reiterated that he\u2019s \u201cstill a little frustrated\u201d that state-level legalization hasn\u2019t seen the \u201cdemocratizing effect\u201d that advocates had hoped would come with reform with respect to industry equity. He pointed out that few New Jersey marijuana business licenses are owned by minorities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Senate has got to move and pass a bill that deals with a lot of areas\u2014restorative justice, making the banking industry equally available, and investing tax revenue to help with addiction and create economic opportunities and deal with the sins of the past,\u201d Booker said.<\/p>\n The senator also weighed in on President Joe Biden\u2019s recent move to issue mass pardons for people who\u2019ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses, saying again that he feels that \u201cthere are more steps to be taken.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that we are deporting parents of American children for marijuana possession should outrage every American,\u201d he said, referencing one group that was left out of the president\u2019s clemency action<\/a>. \u201cAnd obviously, the folks who have been doing these low-level sales, we should look as we move closer to a majority of states moving toward legalization.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut I can do nothing but celebrate Joe Biden,\u201d Booker said. \u201cHe and I had conversations during those debates\u2014off stage\u2014that were meaningful to me. Because he committed to me to do the things he did this week. I just think that\u2019s a powerful thing for your elected leader to say he\u2019s gonna do something and then follow through.\u201d<\/p>\n He made similar remarks in another interview<\/a> the day after Biden\u2019s pardon proclamation, stating that he\u2019s \u201cvery hopeful\u201d that additional reform can be enacted before the end of this Congress.<\/p>\n During his 2020 presidential campaign, Booker repeatedly pressed Biden<\/a> over his opposition to adult-use legalization, criticizing him on the debate stage and elsewhere as being out of step with the majority of his party and emphasizing the racial justice imperatives of ending prohibition.<\/p>\n A series of polls have shown that Americans strongly support the president\u2019s pardon action<\/a>, and they also don\u2019t think that marijuana should be federally classified as a Schedule I drug, which could change following Biden\u2019s separate directive for federal agencies to carry out a scientific review of cannabis.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Schumer separately spoke about marijuana banking issues at a recent White House event<\/a>, reiterating that he was working on the problem, according to the House sponsor.<\/p>\n The conversation between Schumer and Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) happened at an event on inflation reduction and happened to coincide with the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) lobby days, with over 100 marijuana business leaders on Capitol Hill to\u00a0push for the passage of the SAFE Banking Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Perlmutter said at an NCIA-organized press conference that he\u2019s increasingly tempted to \u201cgo to the nuclear option\u201d in the House Rules Committee of \u201cholding up\u201d separate legislation like the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in order to get the marijuana banking measure enacted.<\/p>\n The congressman and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the Senate sponsor of the SAFE Banking Act, also outlined\u00a0next steps for the cannabis banking reform<\/a>\u00a0at a briefing organized by the U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC) in July.<\/p>\n Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC) released a paper in August that outlined what they view as shortcomings of the standalone SAFE Banking Act and recommended\u00a0several amendments to bolster its equity impact<\/a>.<\/p>\n Booker said at an event organized by CRCC that\u00a0the standalone legislation \u201crequires changes\u201d<\/a>\u00a0if it\u2019s going to advance before cannabis is federally legalized.<\/p>\n The senator initially signaled that he was coming around to marijuana banking reform (contingent on equity provisions) at a\u00a0Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing<\/a>\u00a0in July that he convened as chairman.<\/p>\n But in the months before he and his colleagues filed a legalization bill over the summer, Booker was adamant about enacting comprehensive reform<\/a> before advancing the incremental banking legislation. He said at one point \u201cI will lay myself down\u201d before letting the Senate take on banking first.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Perlmutter also said in a recent interview that he feels the introduction of the Senate legalization bill alone means that\u00a0lawmakers have overcome a legislative \u201churdle\u201d<\/a>\u00a0that\u2019s kept SAFE Banking from advancing in the chamber.<\/p>\n Bernie Sanders \u2018Worries\u2019 About Teen Enthusiasm For Marijuana Legalization When Asked About Reform At High School Event<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Cory Booker Says Congress Has A \u2018Good Shot\u2019 At Passing Marijuana Reform During Lame Duck Session<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) says that Congress has a \u201cgood shot\u201d of passing modest marijuana reforms\u2014including banking and justice provisions\u2014during the lame duck session after the midterm elections. He also stressed that lawmakers might not have the same opportunity if Republicans retake either chamber next year. In an interview withContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":57564,"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\/57563"}],"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=57563"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57565,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57563\/revisions\/57565"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,500 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-36.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRead More: Cory Booker Says Congress Has A \u2018Good Shot\u2019 At Passing Marijuana Reform During Lame Duck Session<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"