![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1f4c5-1.png\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Congressional lawmakers on a House subcommittee have announced witnesses for a hearing on state and federal marijuana reform<\/a> that\u2019s scheduled for next week.<\/p>\n The House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties posted a notice providing details about the meeting on Wednesday, listing seven witnesses with broadly pro-reform advocacy backgrounds who will discuss cannabis policy developments at the state and federal level.<\/p>\n Witnesses include members of marijuana reform and lobbying groups, as well as the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. The subcommittee meeting, titled \u201cDevelopments in State Cannabis Laws and Bipartisan Cannabis Reforms at the Federal Level,\u201d will take place on Tuesday, November 15.<\/p>\n \u2014 Oversight Committee (@OversightDems) November 9, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Members will \u201cexamine the many benefits of cannabis decriminalization at the federal level, including addressing racial disparities in the criminal justice system, improving treatment options for veterans, and allowing marijuana companies to access traditional banking services,\u201d the notice says.<\/p>\n Here are the witnesses who are currently slated to speak at the meeting:<\/strong><\/p>\n Randall Woodfin,<\/strong> mayor of Birmingham<\/p>\n Paul Armentano,<\/strong> deputy director of NORML<\/p>\n Andrew Freedman,<\/strong> executive director of Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR)<\/p>\n Eric Goepel,<\/strong> founder and CEO of Veterans Cannabis Coalition (VCC)<\/p>\n Keeda Haynes,<\/strong> senior legal advisor of Free Hearts<\/p>\n Amber Littlejohn,<\/strong> senior policy advisor of Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce (GACC)<\/p>\n Jillian Snider,<\/strong> director of criminal justice & civil liberties at R Street Institute<\/p>\n The mayor of Birmingham might not be associated with a formal advocacy organization, but he\u2019s made headlines over recent years for using his executive authority to pardon thousands of city residents with misdemeanor marijuana convictions on their records.<\/p>\n Goepel of VCC, meanwhile, has long pushed for federal reform, focusing on promoting medical cannabis access for the veteran population. He recently wrote about the unique challenges to advancing reform posed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in an op-ed for Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope that this hearing sets the stage for the next phase of bipartisan Congressional work on descheduling, legalization, and other cannabis-related reforms,\u201d Goepel told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday. \u201cIt is far past time to recognize the harms of prohibition and the empty case for federally criminalizing the plant.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe price of continuing inaction will be measured in the lost lives of veterans who are dying from suicide and overdose because they lack safe, legal access to cannabis and knowledgable health care providers to help them understand its potential risks and benefits,\u201d he said. \u201cWe plan on talking about our state work with compassionate donations in California as well as needed federal reforms like discharge upgrades for veterans separated from the military because of cannabis and the expansion of toxic exposure legislation to include research into cannabinoids as treatments for associated illnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n Some advocates may take issue with the participation of CPEAR on the panel in light of ongoing concerns about the organization\u2019s ties to the alcohol and tobacco industries.<\/p>\n The subcommittee notice says that additional witnesses will be announced before the meeting.<\/p>\n It also talks about racial disparities in marijuana enforcement and the \u201clife-altering implications for employment, housing, and education\u201d that can come with a cannabis conviction.<\/p>\n \u201cDecriminalizing cannabis at the federal level and expunging criminal convictions for possession would alleviate these burdens and allow for societal advancement,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who serves as the GOP ranking member on the panel, previously told Marijuana Moment that\u00a0she had received a \u201cpromise\u201d from leadership<\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0her States Reform Act (SRA)<\/a>\u00a0would be taken under consideration in the panel.<\/p>\n That legislation would end federal marijuana prohibition while taking specific steps to ensure that businesses in existing state markets can continue to operate unencumbered by changing federal rules.<\/p>\n The subcommittee\u2019s notice about next week\u2019s meeting doesn\u2019t explicitly mention Mace\u2019s SRA. Instead, it says members will \u201cexamine legislative efforts to remove cannabis from the controlled substance list, including the House passage of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act), and to balance federal regulation of this burgeoning industry with existing state-based regimes.\u201d<\/p>\n The House passed the MORE Act<\/a>, sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), for the second time in April.<\/p>\n Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), chair of the Oversight subcommittee, has also expressed interest in cannabis reform issues. For example, he filed a floor amendment to the MORE Act to require federal agencies to review security clearance denials going back to 1971 and retroactively make it so cannabis could not be used \u201cas a reason to deny or rescind a security clearance.\u201d That measure was\u00a0narrowly defeated in a floor vote<\/a>.<\/p>\n With respect to state-level marijuana developments, the panel will be meeting about one week after this Tuesday\u2019s election, which saw two more states, Maryland<\/a> and Missouri<\/a>, vote to legalize adult-use cannabis.<\/p>\n This month also marks the 10-year anniversary of the first state votes to legalize cannabis for adult-use in Colorado and Washington State.<\/p>\n To mark the occasion, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) recently announced that he will soon be filing a bill<\/a>\u00a0to direct the attorney general to create a commission charged with making recommendations on a regulatory system for marijuana that models what\u2019s currently in place for alcohol.<\/p>\n \u2014 The most recent House action on marijuana reform came in late September, when the Judiciary Committee\u00a0approved a series of criminal justice reform bills<\/a>\u2014including bipartisan proposals to clear records for prior federal marijuana convictions, provide funding for states that implement systems of automatic expungements and codify retroactive relief for people incarcerated due to on crack-cocaine sentencing disparities.<\/p>\n There was also expected to be an expedited vote in the Senate on a House-passed cannabis research bill in September, but that was\u00a0delayed after a GOP senator raised an objection<\/a>.<\/p>\n Also on the Senate side, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has been working to finalize a package of incremental marijuana legislation, which is expected to include cannabis industry banking protections and expungements proposals.<\/p>\n Schumer recently said that Congress is\u00a0getting \u201cvery close\u201d to introducing and passing<\/a>\u00a0the marijuana bill, colloquially known as SAFE Plus, following discussions with a \u201cbunch of Republican senators.\u201d<\/p>\n The Oversight panel also discussed in its notice President Joe Biden\u2019s mass pardon proclamation for people who\u2019ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses and direct an administrative review of cannabis scheduling under federal law.<\/p>\n \u201cBuilding on this critical step, advocates are calling for action in Congress to decriminalize cannabis at the federal level,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n Biden told college students at a rally on Monday that\u00a0the fate of marijuana reform rests on their votes<\/a>. The comments came as the White House is separately touting the president\u2019s recent pardons as part of the administration\u2019s plan to promote \u201cequity and fairness in the justice system\u201d to support the Black community.<\/p>\n Wisconsin Voters Approve Marijuana Ballot Questions In Cities And Counties Across The State<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Top Marijuana Reform Advocates And Alabama Mayor To Testify At Congressional Legalization Hearing Next Week<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Congressional lawmakers on a House subcommittee have announced witnesses for a hearing on state and federal marijuana reform that\u2019s scheduled for next week. The House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties posted a notice providing details about the meeting on Wednesday, listing seven witnesses with broadly pro-reform advocacyContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":57910,"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\/57909"}],"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=57909"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57911,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57909\/revisions\/57911"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
![\"📅\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1f4c5.png\")
HEARING: Next Tuesday @ 10 AM, Subcom Chair @RepRaskin<\/a> will hold a hearing to examine decriminalization of cannabis at the federal level.https:\/\/t.co\/zGdbJMZEA6<\/a><\/p>\n
\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\/11\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-22.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: Top Marijuana Reform Advocates And Alabama Mayor To Testify At Congressional Legalization Hearing Next Week<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"