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Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) on Thursday formally filed a previously announced bill to set the country up for federal marijuana legalization<\/a>.<\/p>\n The timing of the introduction is meant to roughly coincide with the 10-year anniversary of his home state of Colorado\u2019s vote to legalize adult-use cannabis.<\/p>\n He previewed the legislation at an event<\/a> in October marking that anniversary and formally announced his intent to file it last month.<\/p>\n The Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment Act (PREPARE) Act would 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 \u201cA decade after Colorado pioneered marijuana legalization, Americans overwhelmingly support the same at the federal level,\u201d Hickenlooper said in a press release. \u201cThis bipartisan, bicameral framework, based on Colorado\u2019s Amendment 64 Task Force, will replicate our success nationally.\u201d<\/p>\n A decade after Colorado pioneered marijuana legalization, Americans overwhelmingly support the same at the federal level.<\/p>\n Our PREPARE Act will create a bipartisan, bicameral framework, based on Colorado\u2019s Amendment 64 Task Force, and will replicate our success nationally.<\/p>\n \u2014 Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) December 2, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The measure is identical\u00a0to a House companion bill<\/a>\u00a0that Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Brian Mast (R-FL) filed in April.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m thrilled that the PREPARE Act has been introduced in the Senate, making it not only further bipartisan, but bicameral, and bringing it one step closer to becoming law,\u201d Joyce said on Thursday. \u201cThis legislation gives lawmakers on both sides of the aisle the answers they need to effectively engage on cannabis reform, safely and effectively regulate it, and remedy the harms caused by the failed war on cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWith those answers, Congress can develop a much-needed federal regulatory framework that not only respects the unique needs, rights, and laws of each state, but also ensures a responsible end to prohibition and a safer future for our communities. I was proud to lead the introduction of this commonsense bill in the House and thank Senator Hickenlooper for advancing it in the Senate. I look forward to continuing to work with him and my fellow Cannabis Caucus Co-Chairs in the House to pave the way for more comprehensive reform.\u201d<\/p>\n Joyce separately brought up the PREPARE Act during an interview with RealClearPolitics<\/a> that was sponsored by the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR) and released on Thursday, in which he and two other GOP House members discussed the path forward for federal cannabis reform in the lame duck session and next Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the nation\u2019s first governor to implement a regulatory structure for cannabis, CPEAR applauds Senator Hickenlooper\u2019s efforts to promote a federal regulatory framework for this burgeoning industry,\u201d CPEAR Executive Director Andrew Freedman, who previously served as Colorado\u2019s first marijuana czar, said. \u201cAs an American cash crop, cannabis is now one of the most valuable crops in the nation, making it clear that cannabis consumers, business owners, and patients deserve a transparent process that terminates cannabis prohibition and creates much-needed federal guardrails.\u201d<\/p>\n While Hickenlooper voiced opposition to Colorado\u2019s 2012 legalization vote when he served as governor, he\u2019s since acknowledged that many of his fears about ending prohibition haven\u2019t materialized, particularly when it comes to youth cannabis use. And he\u2019s now a key legislative advocate for reform.<\/p>\n The new congressional measure he\u2019s sponsoring would \u201cprovide lawmakers across the ideological spectrum the opportunity to engage on cannabis reform by creating a fair, honest and publicly transparent process for the federal government to establish effective regulation to be enacted upon the termination of its 85-year prohibition of cannabis,\u201d according to a summary.<\/p>\n It would lead to the \u201cdevelopment of a federal regulatory framework that will help ensure safety, accountability and economic growth among the 45+ states that have enacted cannabis legalization to some degree\u201d while accounting for the \u201cunique needs, rights and laws of each state.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 The idea of creating a \u201cCommission on the Federal Regulation of Cannabis\u201d could attract bipartisan support, especially among lawmakers who are reluctant to back legislation to federally legalize cannabis altogether.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a description of the key provisions of the PREPARE Act:<\/strong><\/p>\n Require the attorney general to establish a \u201cCommission on the Federal Regulation of Cannabis\u201d within 30 days of the bill\u2019s enactment.<\/p>\n The commission would be responsible for studying federal and state regulatory models for alcohol and make recommendations about how they could inform marijuana regulations.<\/p>\n Among other things, the commission\u2019s report must look at the impact of marijuana criminalization, particularly as it concerns minority, low-income and veteran communities.<\/p>\n The panel would also examine the \u201clack of consistent regulations for cannabis product safety, use and labeling requirements\u201d as well as the \u201clack of guidance for cannabis crop production, sale, intrastate, interstate, and international trade.\u201c<\/p>\n It would also need to make recommendations on how to remedy cannabis-related banking and research barriers as well as address measures to ensure the \u201csuccessful coexistence of individual hemp and cannabis industries, including prevention of cross pollination of cannabis and hemp products.\u201d<\/p>\n Members would further be mandated to study and make recommendations on \u201cefficient cannabis revenue reporting and collecting, including efficient and tenable federal revenue frameworks.\u201d<\/p>\n The panel would be required to issue a report to Congress within 12 months.<\/p>\n The panel would include representatives of:<\/strong><\/p>\n The bill would also include a person formerly incarcerated for a non-violent cannabis use or possession crime, a substance use disorder prevention expert, a medical cannabis patient or advocate, a historical expert on cannabis criminalization, a medically licensed individual with knowledge of cannabis use and treatments, a representative from a trade organization or nonprofit representing highly regulated adult goods and consumer package goods and two people who have worked to develop state-level regulatory systems.<\/p>\n Some of the appointments would be made by the attorney general, and others would come from congressional leaders. The bill also contains a stipulation that, \u201cif after the commission is appointed there is a partisan imbalance of commission members, the congressional leaders of the political party with fewer members on the commission shall jointly name additional members to create partisan parity on the commission.\u201d<\/p>\n Attorney General Merrick Garland, for his part, said during his Senate confirmation proceedings that\u00a0it\u2019s a waste of federal resources<\/a>\u00a0to go after people acting in compliance with state cannabis laws and recognized racial disparities in marijuana enforcement.<\/p>\n \u2014 \u201cWe applaud the PREPARE Act\u2019s efforts to create an equitable commission that takes into consideration various viewpoints and topics,\u201d Aaron Smith, CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn particular, we are pleased to see provisions included in the bill that would require the commission to identify the impact of cannabis criminalization, particularly on minority, low income, and veteran communities, the lack of access to the financial sector for cannabis entrepreneurs and industries, and the lack of access to cannabis related research,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n After President Joe Biden directed an administrative review into marijuana\u2019s federal scheduling in October, the Justice Department was quick to say that it would carry out that obligation \u201cexpeditiously.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Biden administration\u2019s review of cannabis scheduling, midterm ballot measures, and polling on cannabis decriminalization all signal that the end of cannabis prohibition isn\u2019t just inevitable\u2014it\u2019s imminent,\u201d U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC) CEO Khadijah Tribble said. \u201cThe PREPARE Act would help ensure that the federal government has a plan in place to ensure a smooth and responsible transition to legal cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n Justin Strekal, founder of the Better Organizing to Win Legalization (BOWL), said that it\u2019s \u201ccritical that Congress thoughtfully prepare to regulate the rapidly growing legal consumer marketplace.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow to properly and efficiently address labeling, advertising, licensing, public health concerns, and other post-prohibition regulatory aspects are crucial components that have yet to be addressed in a bipartisan way and the PREPARE Act can be the vehicle to do just that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n (Disclosure: Strekal supports Marijuana Moment\u2019s work through a\u00a0monthly pledge on Patreon<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Advocates have become increasingly impatient with marijuana incrementalism in Congress, imploring lawmakers to follow the lead of states and put an end to the widely unpopular policy of cannabis criminalization.<\/p>\n And while the basic idea of creating an infrastructure for federal legalization is broadly supported, there are some activists who have criticized bills like the PREPARE Act over concerns that lawmakers are too readily accepting that marijuana regulations should mirror those in place for the alcohol industry.<\/p>\n Shaleen Title, founder and director of Parabola Center for Law and Policy, wrote about the issue in a recent op-ed<\/a> for Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would Congress instruct a commission of experts to create a framework for the cannabis plant just like alcohol? Isn\u2019t the point of such a commission to examine the plant and consider possible frameworks\u2014and related data\u2014to decide what fits?\u201d she wrote. \u201cIt was perhaps a useful analogy a decade ago to remind people what a regulated substance looks like, but today it\u2019s worth noting that cannabis is not alcohol, or tobacco, or a pharmaceutical, and it should not be regulated identically to any other product.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the House has passed a comprehensive legalization bill on two occasions\u2014and Senate leadership filed a separate reform measure in July\u2014but it seems unlikely that the latter chamber will move to advance that proposal before the session ends in January.<\/p>\n Instead, the focus has been on moving a package of incremental cannabis reforms known colloquially as SAFE Plus, which is expected to include bipartisan marijuana banking legislation, as well as language on expungements and cannabis research.<\/p>\n Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), the House sponsor of a bipartisan marijuana banking bill, said this week that\u00a0he sees signs that the Senate will finally act<\/a>\u00a0during the lame duck session\u2014but he is cautioning that he\u2019s \u201cbeen disappointed before.\u201d<\/p>\n Talks on the omnibus bill have been intensifying in recent weeks, with the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) discussing the proposal with key bipartisan senators. But as Perlmutter noted, time is running thin.<\/p>\n The majority leader said in late October that Congress is getting \u201cvery close\u201d<\/a>\u00a0to introducing and passing the marijuana banking and expungements bill, citing progress he\u2019s made in discussions with a \u201cbunch of Republican senators.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), meanwhile, said following the election that Democrats who want to enact cannabis reform\u00a0must either do it \u201cnow\u201d during the lame duck session<\/a>\u00a0or wait until \u201cmany years from now\u201d when his party has a shot at controlling Congress again.<\/p>\n Congressional Researchers Lay Out Six Key Limitations Of Biden\u2019s Marijuana Pardons<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Senator Files Bill To Get Country Ready For Federal Marijuana Legalization Amid Heightened Reform Talks<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) on Thursday formally filed a previously announced bill to set the country up for federal marijuana legalization. The timing of the introduction is meant to roughly coincide with the 10-year anniversary of his home state of Colorado\u2019s vote to legalize adult-use cannabis. He previewed the legislationContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":58807,"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\/58806"}],"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=58806"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58808,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58806\/revisions\/58808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Senator Files Bill To Get Country Ready For Federal Marijuana Legalization Amid Heightened Reform Talks<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"