{"id":78996,"date":"2024-11-13T09:44:47","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T17:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/11\/13\/newly-elected-republican-senate-majority-leader-opposes-marijuana-legalization-rescheduling-and-industry-banking-access\/"},"modified":"2024-11-13T19:45:55","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T03:45:55","slug":"newly-elected-republican-senate-majority-leader-opposes-marijuana-legalization-rescheduling-and-industry-banking-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/11\/13\/newly-elected-republican-senate-majority-leader-opposes-marijuana-legalization-rescheduling-and-industry-banking-access\/","title":{"rendered":"Newly Elected Republican Senate Majority Leader Opposes Marijuana Legalization, Rescheduling And Industry Banking Access"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Senate Republicans on Wednesday elected a new majority leader who not only opposes legalizing marijuana<\/a> but has also called for a reversal of the Biden administration\u2019s plan to reschedule cannabis and has criticized Democrats for working to increase the industry\u2019s access to banking services.<\/p>\n

Thune, who defeated Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rick Scott (R-FL) in an election for the leadership slot, joined other GOP lawmakers in a letter in July challenging the current administration\u2019s marijuana rescheduling push<\/a>, urging that the policy proposal be trashed.<\/p>\n

The rescheduling rule \u201cfails to provide adequate science and data to support moving marijuana to schedule III and should not have been signed or published,\u201d the letter Thune signed says, calling it \u201cirresponsible\u201d for federal health officials to \u201cmake this determination when emerging research shows that there are significant health concerns associated with marijuana use.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter details Thune\u2019s and other Republican lawmakers\u2019 concerns about marijuana\u2019s health effects, suggesting that there is a \u201cclear association between cannabis use and psychosis, anxiety, cognitive failures, respiratory adverse events, cancer, cardiovascular outcomes and gastrointestinal disorders.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also claims that \u201csexual disfunction was twice as high in men who used marijuana\u201d and that \u201cmarijuana use among veterans with PTSD was associated with worse PTSD symptoms, more violent behavior, and alcohol use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond criticizing cannabis use and policy reform, the letter Thune signed further calls into question whether marijuana has any medical value.<\/p>\n

\u201cMedical marijuana dispensaries sell edibles and vapes that come in flavors like passion raspberry, blueberry calm, wild cherry, and sour apple,\u201d it says. \u201cPretending that these products are medicine that can treat health conditions is doing a disservice to Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt remains the case that marijuana has no currently accepted medical use,\u201d Thune and his Republican colleague wrote. \u201cThe fact that states have labeled marijuana as \u2018medicine\u2019 does not change the nature of the drug\u2026 We urge you to withdraw this proposal and maintain marijuana as a schedule I drug.\u201d<\/p>\n

Separately, as Senate Democrats moved to advance a marijuana legalization bill in 2021, Thune said<\/a> that cannabis reform is \u201csomething we\u2019ll probably have to grapple with here.\u201d But he\u2019s consistently opposed even modest proposals to allow marijuana industry banking.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Thune said attaching cannabis banking legislation to an aviation bill would be \u201ca non-starter,\u201d noting<\/a> that Republican\u00a0 opposition to the idea is \u201cvery strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called<\/a> the then-Democratic-controlled House\u2019s proposal to include marijuana banking reform in a large-scale coronavirus relief bill \u201ccrazy stuff\u201d in 2020, complaining in a floor speech that the text of the underlying legislation mentions \u201ccannabis\u201d more times than \u201cjobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Was on the air with @hughhewitt<\/a> this AM. We spoke about House Dems\u2019 massive new spending package that\u2019s really a grab bag of Dem agenda items disguised as #COVID19<\/a> relief. As was said, it mentions cannabis more times than it mentions jobs. Nobody is taking it seriously.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) May 14, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\u201cIn case Democrats didn\u2019t realize, Americans aren\u2019t suffering from a lack of cannabis right now,\u201d Thune said<\/a> in a speech on the Senate floor. \u201cThey\u2019re suffering from a lack of employment.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said that Democrats\u2019 push to advance a marijuana legalization bill was a \u201cgreat illustration of the gap in priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

A great illustration of the gap in priorities:
While Republicans are continuing to negotiate on COVID relief, Democrats are holding votes on a Tiger King bill & legalizing cannabis.
Let\u2019s get serious & do our job for Americans.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) December 4, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\u201cWhile Republicans are continuing to negotiate on COVID relief, Democrats are holding votes on a Tiger King bill & legalizing cannabis,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s get serious & do our job for Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in 2014, Thune said that while he understands that \u201cpeople have strong opinions on both sides of this debate, I do not support legalizing the use of marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, the medical benefits from the use of marijuana are still inconclusive, and I believe that we must be careful not to increase the availability of marijuana and the use of marijuana for non-medical reasons,\u201d the senator said<\/a> in a constituent letter. \u201cHowever, I support the development of alternative medications that will provide relief to patients without opening the door to substance abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

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One more time for\u00a0@HouseDemocrats<\/a>\u00a0in the back: This bill will not pass the Senate.<\/p>\n

It shouldn\u2019t pass. Look what\u2019s in it:
\u2013 Taxpayer $$ for illegal immigrants
\u2013\u00a0Tells states how to handle their elections
\u2013 68 mentions of \u201ccannabis\u201d<\/p>\n

What does any of that have to do with #COVID19<\/a>?<\/p>\n

\u2014 Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) May 15, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

The next year, he called legalization a \u201cdangerous path,\u201d adding<\/a> that voters who enacted the reform in Colorado are \u201cgoing to pay a price for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2021, Thune acknowledged that cannabis is an \u201carea that\u2019s still evolving, and our country\u2019s views on it are evolving,\u201d adding<\/a> that \u201chow we deal with it nationally I think is still an open question.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMedical\u2019s getting big \u2014 the recreational not as big yet, but it\u2019s growing \u2014 and there\u2019ll be more initiatives on the ballot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, voters in Thune\u2019s home state of South Dakota approved a marijuana legalization initiative at the ballot in 2020, but it was overturned by the state Supreme Court. Voters subsequently rejected legalization proposals in 2022 and 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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In Election\u2019s Aftermath, Pennsylvania And Hawaii Appear Most Likely To Legalize Marijuana In 2025, Advocates Predict<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The post Newly Elected Republican Senate Majority Leader Opposes Marijuana Legalization, Rescheduling And Industry Banking Access<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Newly Elected Republican Senate Majority Leader Opposes Marijuana Legalization, Rescheduling And Industry Banking Access<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senate Republicans on Wednesday elected a new majority leader who not only opposes legalizing marijuana but has also called for a reversal of the Biden administration\u2019s plan to reschedule cannabis and has criticized Democrats for working to increase the industry\u2019s access to banking services. Thune, who defeated Sens. John CornynContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":459,"featured_media":0,"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\/78996"}],"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\/459"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78996"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78997,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78996\/revisions\/78997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}