![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-5.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and several other key Democratic senators are meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss marijuana legislation, two Senate sources have confirmed to Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n
Advocates and stakeholders have been closely watching for any cannabis developments after efforts to pass modest reforms stalled out<\/a> in the last Congress. Now the discussions are heating back up under different political dynamics, with Republicans in control of the House.<\/p>\n Schumer will be meeting with Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), along with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH), as Punchbowl News first reported.<\/p>\n New: @SenSchumer<\/a> will meet this afternoon with Sens. @CoryBooker<\/a> @SenSherrodBrown<\/a> @JeffMerkley<\/a> @SenJackyRosen<\/a> to talk cannabis legislation, per Dem aide.@BrendanPedersen<\/a> & me<\/p>\n \u2014 John Bresnahan (@bresreports) February 1, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) was also invited, but an aide told Marijuana Moment that he had an \u201can unavoidable scheduling conflict\u201d so would be sending a senior staffer in his place.<\/p>\n It remains to be seen whether the senators will be discussing any particular bills or cannabis-related issues, but it seems likely that they\u2019ll pick up where they left off last session, with a focus on the so-called SAFE Plus package of marijuana banking and expungements legislation.<\/p>\n Notably, however, no Republican senators are reported to have been included in the meeting, even though lawmakers such as Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) were previously confirmed as being part of talks on cannabis legislation near the end of the last Congress.<\/p>\n Schumer and Booker filed a comprehensive marijuana legalization bill last year, but it became quickly apparent that there wouldn\u2019t be enough support for passage with the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. As a compromise, the majority leader led bipartisan and bicameral negotiations over the SAFE Plus deal.<\/p>\n Booker told NBC News after Wednesday\u2019s 30-minute meeting that the senators are \u201call pretty hopeful\u201d that some measure of cannabis reform can advance this Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that Senator Schumer and I and Wyden last Congress announced a vision for cannabis reform, and this was a discussion about how do we make progress in this Congress,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were realistic. You know, we\u2019ve got a divided Congress, but we\u2019ve got to work on something that can get done.\u201d<\/p>\n Booker added, “I think we’re all pretty hopeful.”<\/p>\n “We were realistic. You know, we\u2019ve got a divided Congress, but we\u2019ve got to work on something that can get done.\u201d<\/p>\n W\/ @frankthorp<\/a> and @JulieNBCNews<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Liz Brown-Kaiser (@lizbrownkaiser) February 1, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Attempts to place the reform in large-scale defense and spending legislation proved fruitless, and Schumer placed blame on GOP senators<\/a> for derailing the bipartisan proposals.<\/p>\n Brown, for his part, has been largely focused on the financial services components of the issue. As Banking Committee chair, he\u2019d play a critical role in advancing the reform through the chamber. He\u2019s made clear that he wants to see equity and justice provisions incorporated<\/a> into the banking fix.<\/p>\n Rosen has consistently championed the idea of extending federal Small Business Administration (SBA) services to the cannabis industry. It was discussed as a possible addition to SAFE Plus during negotiations.<\/p>\n While Wednesday\u2019s meeting represents a welcome development for advocates who\u2019ve been waiting to see action from the Senate after a disappointing end to the last session, the prospects of advancing marijuana reform have shifted after the House flip.<\/p>\n Booker said in a recent interview that ongoing marijuana banking issues under prohibition amount to a \u201ccannabis crisis,\u201d and while he thinks there\u2019s still a shot to enact reform, he\u2019s emphasized the challenges of the new political dynamic<\/a> on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n \u2014 Booker has faced particular criticism from certain stakeholders over how his position on banking legislation has evolved, with the senator at one point\u00a0vowing to block any efforts to advance<\/a>\u00a0a standalone Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act without equity components but eventually expressing interest in compromise to get something done.<\/p>\n The senator said in an earlier interview following last year\u2019s election that\u00a0he believed it could take \u201cmany years from now\u201d<\/a>\u00a0to pass cannabis legislation if Democrats didn\u2019t get the job done during the lame duck session.<\/p>\n The White House was asked last week\u00a0where President Joe Biden stands on marijuana banking reform<\/a>, and Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the ball is in Congress\u2019s court, with no current plans for administrative action to resolve the issue.<\/p>\n Biden hasn\u2019t provided a clear policy position on marijuana banking, though he\u2019s said that states should be able to decide their own cannabis laws without federal interference. His administration\u00a0has also become more vocal marijuana reform<\/a>\u00a0since the president issued a mass cannabis possession pardon in October.<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s New Agriculture Commissioner Declines To Pursue Medical Marijuana And Gun Rights Lawsuit Led By His Predecessor<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Senate Democrats<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Schumer, Booker And Other Senators To Meet And Discuss Marijuana Legislation, Senate Sources Say<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and several other key Democratic senators are meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss marijuana legislation, two Senate sources have confirmed to Marijuana Moment. Advocates and stakeholders have been closely watching for any cannabis developments after efforts to pass modest reforms stalled out in the lastContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":61446,"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\/61445"}],"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=61445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61447,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61445\/revisions\/61447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of 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\/2023\/02\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-4.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: Schumer, Booker And Other Senators To Meet And Discuss Marijuana Legislation, Senate Sources Say<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"