U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who leads his party as Senate minority leader, filed a far-reaching marijuana bill on Wednesday.
Titled the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act, the bill would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act.
It would set aside $20 million annually to states and municipalities for for the purpose of administering, expanding, or developing expungement or sealing programs for convictions of possession of marijuana. No less than half of the funds would be earmarked for public defenders and legal aid providers.
Another provision, according to its section title, would “level the economic playing field” in the cannabis industry by requiring the Treasury Department to annually transfer an amount equal to 10% of total tax revenue generated by marijuana or $10 million, whichever is greater, to an account called the Marijuana Opportunity Trust Fund, which would be doled out by the Small Business Administration to industry outfits controlled by women and socially and economically disadvantaged people.