In 2016, legalizing marijuana was a niche issue. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders mentioned it occasionally, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton supported the lesser step of removing pot from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
Things have changed. Nearly every major Democratic contender for the 2020 nomination has come out in support of legalizing marijuana at the federal level, and several candidates have gone even further, proposing expunging non-violent marijuana convictions and investing in communities harmed by the War on Drugs.
According to former U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, federal marijuana legalization will be here by the year 2022. The Republican from California stopped by “TMZ Live” on Wednesday to explain why.
According to Rohrabacher, his former cohorts on Capitol Hill are already working on legislation that will allow all Americans to partake in marijuana use. He also added that the drive to legalize the substance would be spearheaded by Donald Trump.
The primary catalyst for Canopy stock's rise last month was the company's announcement on April 18 that it was buying the rights to acquire Acreage Holdings (NASDAQOTH:ACRGF), a U.S.-based cannabis producer. The deal involves Canopy paying $300 million up front for the right to acquire Acreage for $3.4 billion if and when the U.S. federal government legalizes marijuana.
In the fight to legalize pot, enthusiasts have largely pointed to the unjust demonization of the drug itself. Weed is no more harmful than alcohol, the argument goes, so why not tax it and regulate it the same way? That logic has carried the day in nearly a dozen pot-legal states from Alaska to California to Maine.
People in Colorado still remember John Hickenlooper’s crack after the state legalized marijuana, a move he opposed: “Don’t break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly.”
But Mr. Hickenlooper, the governor at the time of the 2012 initiative allowing recreational use of cannabis, eventually changed his mind. He acknowledged that fears of increased use by children did not materialize, and he boasted of the tax revenues for social programs that regulated sales delivered.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) announced his bid for the 2020 U.S. Presidential campaign, including in his announcement his official backing for an end to cannabis prohibition, according to a MarketWatch report.
Sen. Booker talked about how our country needs radical empathy to bring the country back together and when asked by the hosts of the show about his stance on incarceration and drug policy, he took a strong stance against the drug war.
“People kept saying that with Sessions no longer attorney general, a major obstacle was removed from the cannabis movement’s progress,” Wallin told POLITICO Magazine. “I had to remind them that Jeff Sessions was not really the major problem. He had been all bluster and no action.” Instead, Wallin was focused on the departure of another Sessions — the chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee.
Sherrill, a Democrat from Montclair who is replacing retired Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen in the 11th District seat, was cautious in her support.
“I’d have to see [the bill]. I certainly am interested in that … I can tell you that immediately what I would like to do would be to take marijuana off the Schedule 1 controlled substances list, which I think should be the first step.
Could Attorney General Jeff Sessions be fired?
However, this cloudy picture didn't stop pot stocks from steaming to big gains late last week after the feud between President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions escalated to new levels. In an interview with The Hill, Trump said, "I don't have an attorney general. It's very sad."
Marijuana advocate Charlie Wilson says support for legalization is no longer a partisan issue, thanks in large part to a shift in the public's views.
Wilson, who is the chief financial officer of Green Bits, emphasized the growing support among both Republicans and Democrats for a marijuana legalization bill, the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act.
If passed, the bipartisan bill would allow states to regulate marijuana without federal interference.