The STATES Act (or the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States Act, yikes) amends the current Controlled Substances Act to prohibit federal interference in states that have their own legal weed laws on the books. Right now, 10 states plus Washington, D.C. have chosen to legalize recreational weed, while 33 more states allow medical marijuana use. That's a staggering majority of states with green laws and green regulations in place. Its sponsors hope to get it through Congress before the next election—and the sooner, the better.
As state legalization measures in New York and New Jersey stumbled near the finish line this week, better news emerged from Washington, DC, as Congress made progress on two of the most prominent federal reform measures.
The chair of a critical House committee said on Wednesday that his panel and the larger body will take up legislation to protect states with legal marijuana from federal intervention “in a relatively short time, within the next several weeks, and I think we will have a very strong vote.”
An unlikely coalition of lawmakers is plotting how to revise the nation’s marijuana laws during the 116th Congress — a mission that’s become much more viable in recent years as public support for legalizing cannabis shoots up and members introduce bills in higher numbers than ever before.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced three wide-ranging marijuana bills in Congress on Thursday.
The congresswoman, who was named as a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus last month, re-filed legislation to end federal cannabis prohibition, bar the federal government from using funds to interfere in state-legal marijuana programs and encourage reform policies to help communities of color participate in the legal market.
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker reintroduced legislation that would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, effectively meaning state-legal cannabis businesses would not have to fear federal interference and could gain normal access to banking services.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, one of half a dozen Democratic senators running for the White House, is reintroducing a bill on Thursday that would fundamentally end the federal government's prohibition on marijuana.
Advocates and those in Congress who have long been clamoring for cannabis reform are expected to get their first swing today at solving the biggest hurdle faced by the increasing number of state-legal cannabis businesses squirming to operate under federal prohibition.
For the first time since 2011, the Democrats have the majority in the House of Representatives, and it appears that reforming federal marijuana laws is one of their highest priorities. While 33 states so far have legalized medical and/or recreational use, cannabis remains federally prohibited, further complicating the implementation and regulation of the nation’s growing legal marijuana industry.
The 116th Congress just went into session this week, and a bipartisan marijuana reform bill has already been introduced in the House.
US Representatives Steve Cohen and Don Young re-introduced the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act on Thursday as one of their first acts in the new session. The legislation would let states establish their own medical cannabis programs free of federal intervention and also allow physicians at the Department of Veterans Affairs to issue medical cannabis recommendations for veterans.