U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’s putting together a new federal marijuana legalization bill that would allow states freedom to “do whatever they’d like” and put tax revenues into minority communities most harmed by prohibition.
A New York Democrat who filed a marijuana descheduling bill in 2018, Schumer said his latest effort draws from a number of reform bills. He reportedly is working with both Democratic senators and some Republicans.
He talked about the approach to decriminalizing marijuana in an interview on Instagram Thursday with former NBA basketball player Al Harrington, who is CEO of Los Angeles-based cannabis company Viola Brands.
In addition to provisions to help minority communities, Schumer indicated that he wants an industry that isn’t taken over by corporations.
“I don’t want to see these big tobacco companies coming in and shoving everyone out,” he said.