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A GOP senator says opponents of marijuana legalization \u201chave lost\u201d the fight to maintain prohibition and that \u201cit\u2019s time\u201d for lawmakers to address that reality by creating a regulatory framework treating cannabis \u201cin the same way that we do with alcohol and tobacco,\u201d so that states can set their own policies without federal intervention.<\/p>\n
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday that featured witnesses from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) pressed the DEA representative on cannabis policy issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have tried to keep pounding the table and saying, \u2018Folks, those of us who were not necessarily eager to legalize pot have lost,’\u201d the senator said. \u201cThe majority of states have legalized it at some level or another. I don\u2019t really have a whole lot of emotions about it personally, but for the fact that I don\u2019t think we\u2019re regulating it properly, and I do believe it\u2019s just become another distribution channel for the cartels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tillis seemed to be arguing that the absence of federal regulations, and the policy disconnect with states that have increasingly enacted legalization, has created a vacuum that\u2019s allowed illicit operators to thrive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to get this under control. We have to realize that pot is going to be legal in this country in one form or another, and virtually every other state,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can either figure out how to regulate it by putting a U.S. Department of Agriculture regimen in [and] an [Food and Drug Administration, or FDA] regimen in the same way that we do with alcohol and tobacco are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watch the senator\u2019s remarks on cannabis policy at the hearing<\/a> in the video below, starting around 2:11:00:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to get way down the road without control over inputs, and the next thing the cartels are going to do is figure out how they can put\u2014in the race for potency, once they run out of how you can actually do this through the plants, they\u2019re going to figure out some way to make this more potent and more deadly,\u201d the senator said.<\/p>\n He also said that he feels \u201cvery strongly that we need to have a separate meeting about how do we create a construct that, if states want to opt into, they can\u2014not make it legal federally\u2014or this is getting out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n The senator also spent time pressing DEA Special Agent in Charge Los Angeles Field Division Matthew Allen on an issue in his home state, where the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has legalized both medical and adult-use cannabis while the rest of the state remains under a system of broad prohibition.<\/p>\n Despite repeatedly calling for a federal regulatory structure for marijuana, Tillis has consistently taken issue with the policy disconnect between state, federal and tribal governments. However, he said he recognizes \u201cthey have a right to sell marijuana, I guess, as a as a recognized tribe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut they\u2019re growing in one place and selling in another place. Not only are they\u2014and let\u2019s face it, folks, it\u2019s a casino operation. It\u2019s a destination. People are buying this stuff,\u201d he said, referring to the Cherokees\u2019 land, called the Qualla Boundary. \u201cYou\u2019d have to be out of your mind to think that they\u2019re going to dispose of whatever is not used by the time they leave.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s an \u201canomaly\u201d that represents \u201cone example of what happens when Congress fails to act on something that I think it\u2019s time for us to act on,\u201d Tillis said.<\/p>\n \u2014 Back in February, the senator also raised the issue during a Senate Banking Committee hearing, saying \u201cwe should reexamine [federal marijuana laws].\u201d<\/a> But at the same time, \u201cwe damn sure shouldn\u2019t do it by passing\u201d legislation that would simply prevent federal regulators from penalizing banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cIf somebody wants to work on rules of the road and do that\u2014and bank the industry in a cohesive, sustainable way that doesn\u2019t kind of skirt around the fact that it\u2019s still illegal at the federal level\u2014count me in. Happy to do it,\u201d Tillis said.<\/p>\n Tillis also said last December that he\u2019s hopeful Congress will have a \u201cdiscussion\u201d about potentially creating a federal regulatory framework for marijuana<\/a>\u00a0in 2025, though he added that he personally wouldn\u2019t vote to federally legalize cannabis.<\/p>\n Last July, the senator separately said that he supports creating a \u201ccomprehensive regulatory framework that treats marijuana just like tobacco,\u201d<\/a> arguing that \u201cthe federal government needs to figure out a safe way to allow this market to occur.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest remarks in the Senate committee hearing come about two months after Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) once again introduced the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment Act (PREPARE) Act<\/a>, which would direct the attorney general to create a commission charged with making recommendations on a regulatory system for cannabis that models what\u2019s currently in place for alcohol.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n RFK Says Trump Administration Could Provide Psychedelic Therapy To Military Veterans \u2018Within 12 Months\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Marijuana Opponents \u2018Have Lost\u2019 The Debate, GOP Senator Says, Arguing \u2018It\u2019s Time\u2019 To Regulate It Like Alcohol And Tobacco<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A GOP senator says opponents of marijuana legalization \u201chave lost\u201d the fight to maintain prohibition and that \u201cit\u2019s time\u201d for lawmakers to address that reality by creating a regulatory framework treating cannabis \u201cin the same way that we do with alcohol and tobacco,\u201d so that states can set their ownContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":81870,"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\/81869"}],"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=81869"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81871,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81869\/revisions\/81871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n\n\n\ufeff<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\nRead More: Marijuana Opponents \u2018Have Lost\u2019 The Debate, GOP Senator Says, Arguing \u2018It\u2019s Time\u2019 To Regulate It Like Alcohol And Tobacco<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"