Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) will chair the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism. A press release on the appointment prominently touts two marijuana bills the senator has sponsored.
The Marijuana Justice Act to federally deschedule cannabis and promote social justice is the very first piece of legislation cited in the release after it notes the senator’s work to make “championing reforms of America’s broken criminal justice system a top priority.” Also mentioned is his separate CARERS Act, which would protect state medical marijuana programs.
Booker, who along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) is moving to advance legalization legislation this session, said that the nation’s “broken criminal justice system is a stain on the soul of our country, the result of decades of failed policies that have broken apart families and communities and have not made us safer.”
“The burden of this broken system has been disproportionately and dramatically borne by Black and brown Americans, and the poor. It’s past time for change,” he said. “Congress has made progress in starting to turn the tide in recent years, and now is a time of great promise.”