{"id":62049,"date":"2023-02-22T05:55:58","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T13:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/02\/22\/iowa-democratic-house-leaders-file-bill-to-legalize-marijuana\/"},"modified":"2023-02-22T19:46:29","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T03:46:29","slug":"iowa-democratic-house-leaders-file-bill-to-legalize-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/02\/22\/iowa-democratic-house-leaders-file-bill-to-legalize-marijuana\/","title":{"rendered":"Iowa Democratic House Leaders File Bill To Legalize Marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cWith strong support from Iowans and neighboring states that have already approved, it\u2019s time to legalize marijuana for adult use.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Luke Clausen, Iowa Capital Dispatch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iowa House Democrats unveiled legislation Tuesday to legalize marijuana, citing competition from neighboring states.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith strong support from Iowans and neighboring states that have already approved, it\u2019s time to legalize marijuana for adult use,\u201d House Minority Whip Rep. Lindsay James of Dubuque said. \u201cThe comprehensive bill we are introducing today will keep Iowans safe, stop our tax dollars from going to neighboring states, improve the quality of life for Iowans suffering from chronic illnesses and stop wasting state resources to unfairly punish Iowans.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Marijuana legalization is one of the Iowa Democratic Party\u2019s major legislative priorities. The bill<\/a>, which had not yet been introduced on Tuesday, would legalize the use of recreational marijuana with up to 500 milligrams of THC for adults 21 and older with a valid ID. The legislation is similar to current laws in Missouri, Illinois, South Dakota and Minnesota.<\/p>\n

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Today we introduced a bill to legalize marijuana in Iowa. I\u2019ve heard from people of all parties who believe it\u2019s time to legalize in order to keep Iowans safe, stop $$ from going to neighboring states, improve our quality of life, and stop unfairly punishing Iowans. #ialegis<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/u3obXNhY6s<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Iowa House Democrats (@iowahousedems) February 21, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Regarding criminal justice reform, the bill would lower the penalty for possession of a half-ounce or less of marijuana to a civil penalty and decrease other possession penalties from felonies to misdemeanors. It would also allow individuals, identified proactively by Iowa courts, to expunge their criminal records of possession two years after a conviction if no violent offenses are committed during that period.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0listened to Iowans\u00a0and heard from people of all parties in all corners of the state who strongly believe it\u2019s time to legalize marijuana. This commonsense bill we\u2019re introducing today isn\u2019t about politics, it\u2019s about people,\u201d House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst said. \u201cOur bill is an opportunity this session to put partisanship aside and work together to get something done that a majority of Iowans want.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Retail marijuana sales would also be expanded under the bill. Under the Alcoholic Beverage Division, retail marijuana establishments would be regulated and a \u201cseed-to-sale\u201d tracking system would be set up to combat the shift from the black market to legal, regulated use.\u00a0An establishment would have to be licensed by the state to sell marijuana products.<\/p>\n

The bill would also create new streams of tax revenue for the state, county and local governments, including an additional 10 percent excise tax on marijuana product sales that would go to Iowa schools, mental health services and local public safety. Counties would have the option of imposing an additional 1 percent surcharge on state and local taxes.<\/p>\n

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Today Minority Leader @KonfrstForHouse<\/a> and Minority Whip @Lindsay4Iowa<\/a> along with members of the Iowa House Democrats, introduced legislation to legalize marijuana in Iowa. #ialegis<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/HC6IkAWyDO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Iowa House Democrats (@iowahousedems) February 21, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Marijuana legalization is unlikely to get past the Republican-controlled Legislature. Republican leaders have said they\u00a0do not expect marijuana expansion laws to advance\u00a0this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there needs to be a deterrent in the law, but I understand the logic of having discussions about what the appropriate penalties should be and that sort of thing,\u201d Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said last year. \u201cBut in terms of making marijuana legal, that is something I would never support.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was first published by Iowa Capital Dispatch.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Bipartisan Governors Discuss Marijuana Legalization And Push Congress For Federal Banking Fix<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The post Iowa Democratic House Leaders File Bill To Legalize Marijuana<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Iowa Democratic House Leaders File Bill To Legalize Marijuana<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWith strong support from Iowans and neighboring states that have already approved, it\u2019s time to legalize marijuana for adult use.\u201d By Luke Clausen, Iowa Capital Dispatch Iowa House Democrats unveiled legislation Tuesday to legalize marijuana, citing competition from neighboring states. \u201cWith strong support from Iowans and neighboring states that haveContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62049"}],"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\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62049"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62050,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62049\/revisions\/62050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}