Three Republican members of Congress who support marijuana legalization are laying out their vision for reform during the current lame duck, as well as the next session when the GOP takes back control of the House, expressing optimism about the momentum toward ending federal prohibition.<\/p>\n
Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Brian Mast (R-FL) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) shared their perspectives on the issue in an interview series with RealClearPolitics, sponsored by the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR) and released on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Each lawmaker said that they hoped to see the Senate move forward with some kind of marijuana reform in the remaining weeks of the 117th Congress, saying that while the expectation is that the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is finalizing will be incremental, those small steps could be refined and expanded upon, even with a divided Congress next session.<\/p>\n
\ufeff<\/span><\/p>\n Joyce, a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said that it was a \u201cgood\u201d thing for marijuana reform that Democrats held onto the Senate because it \u201cgave them more runway toward the end of the year.\u201d He said bipartisan senators like Schumer and Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) have put in \u201chard work\u201d on the forthcoming package, which is expected to center of cannabis banking and expungements, and he hopes \u201cthat they continue to stay consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully some of these things will get accomplished at the end of this term,\u201d he said, adding that it would set up lawmakers in the next session to smooth out any \u201crough edges\u201d in the legislation and advance follow-up bills to address any \u201cunforeseen\u201d issues with the reforms.<\/p>\n RSVP for this virtual event hosted by CPEAR and @RealClearNews<\/a>!<\/p>\n This conversation with Republican policymakers is an important step in getting a federal framework for #cannabis<\/a> across the finish line!<\/p>\n Register here: https:\/\/t.co\/varhaAtzGJ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/CSlE9VMOlp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (@CPEARCoalition) November 29, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Each of the three lawmakers said that they\u2019d like to see an end to federal prohibition, and that conservatives should embrace the Constitution\u2019s federalist principles by letting states make their own choices about cannabis policy. But they also recognized that diverging opinions about the details and scope of reform make it more challenging to advance substantive legislation.<\/p>\n Joyce\u2014who is the sponsor of a bipartisan cannabis expungements bill<\/a> alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), as well as another measure to prepare the federal government for eventual legalization<\/a>\u2014said that he expects to see more comprehensive reform move as younger generations of lawmakers, with experience in state legislatures that have enacted legalization, take their seats in Congress.<\/p>\n In the interim, the congressman said<\/a> it\u2019s important to be strategic about pursuing incremental reform, \u201cmeeting [lawmakers] where they\u2019re at so they get comfortable with it and get bills in a patchwork way moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n He also pointed out that taking that approach would make it more likely that legislation doesn\u2019t just move through Congress but also receives the signature of President Joe Biden, who \u201cunfortunately, drugs have affected his family, so he\u2019s not coming to this as a willing participant, necessarily.\u201d<\/p>\n Mast, who replaced the late Rep. Don Young (R-AK) as the second GOP co-chair of the Cannabis Caucus this year, made similar points, though he seemed more sour on the prospects of enacting meaningful reform during the lame duck and said it\u2019s \u201cmore likely in the next Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n Internally, GOP members of the House are rallying around the idea of putting together \u201csimple, straightforward pieces of legislation so that people can know exactly what their representatives are, in fact, standing up for,\u201d Mast said, adding that the strategy could be more effective for marijuana reform compared to placing various proposals in large-scale measures as some lawmakers have tried.<\/p>\n In that sense, the congressman said that he is \u201cactually more hopeful\u201d about marijuana legislation moving forward in the next session with a GOP House majority, and he said that the \u201cbase\u201d reform should be descheduling.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the argument [for cannabis reform] gets stronger and stronger every day,\u201d he said. And he encouraged his Republican colleagues to keep the same states\u2019 rights mentality with marijuana that they do for other issues like reproductive rights and immigration policy.<\/p>\n \u201cBe consistent and apply that same policy in the same way,\u201d Mast said. \u201cBut, like I said, one of the things that, in my opinion, gives us a greater ability to advance this in this Republican House of Representatives is going to be our internal push to have simple up-or-down votes.\u201d<\/p>\n The congressman, who lost both his legs while serving as an Army explosive ordnance disposal technician in Afghanistan, also spoke about the benefits of medical cannabis for military veterans.<\/p>\n Mace, for her part, said that any GOP members who oppose cannabis reform are \u201con the wrong side of this issue, whether you live in a blue state or a red state.\u201d<\/p>\n The congresswoman, who is sponsoring a legalization bill, added that advancing reform means finding \u201cways to make this a bipartisan issue,\u201d and the simplest way to do that would be to frame it as a states rights issue.<\/p>\n Mace\u2019s States Reform Act (SRA) would let states make those policy decisions, but it also includes more targeted provisions such as imposing a federal tax and distribute revenue to certain agencies and programs. And that creates a challenge for enacting the bill on a bipartisan and bicameral basis.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are doing a disservice to the American people by sitting on our hands and doing absolutely nothing,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I blame both sides of the aisle. I blame Republicans and I blame Democrats for making a lot of promises and not following through on them.\u201d<\/p>\n She made similar points in a recent interview with Marijuana Moment<\/a> that followed a hearing on cannabis reform in a House Oversight subcommittee that she serves on as the GOP ranking member.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), the House sponsor of a bipartisan marijuana banking bill, said this week that he sees signs that the Senate will finally act<\/a> during 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 Schumer discussing the proposal with key bipartisan senators. But as Perlmutter noted, time is running thin.<\/p>\n The majority leader said late last month 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 Rhode Island\u2019s First Recreational Marijuana Shops Have Officially Opened<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Three GOP Lawmakers Lay Out Next Steps For Marijuana Reform In Lame Duck Session And Next Congress<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Three Republican members of Congress who support marijuana legalization are laying out their vision for reform during the current lame duck, as well as the next session when the GOP takes back control of the House, expressing optimism about the momentum toward ending federal prohibition. Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH), BrianContinue 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":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58811"}],"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=58811"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58812,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58811\/revisions\/58812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\n
\nRead More: Three GOP Lawmakers Lay Out Next Steps For Marijuana Reform In Lame Duck Session And Next Congress<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"