Senate Democrats unveiled a bill that has been long in the works to propose marijuana legalization, placing the matter in the hands of state legislatures.
The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, championed by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., has been put forward to make marijuana legal at the federal level.
While the bill aims to not only legalize marijuana, it will establish FDA monitoring requirements like those that already in place for tobacco and alcohol.
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“Cannabis legalization has proven immensely successful at the state level, so it is time that Congress catches up with the rest of the country,” Schumer stated Thursday afternoon on the Senate floor. “I am proud to be the first Majority Leader ever to say that it is time to end the federal prohibition on cannabis, and this bill provides the best framework for updating our cannabis laws and reversing decades of harm inflicted by the war on drugs.”
Schumer did not announce next steps on the legislation or whether he will attempt to bring it up for further consideration on the Senate floor, though he said he hopes to get something done on marijuana “this year”.
Congressional findings
The new bill notes that legal cannabis businesses support more than 428,000 jobs throughout the United States. Legal cannabis sales totaled 25 billion dollars in 2021 and are projected to reach 45 billion dollars by 2025. That enforcing cannabis prohibition laws costs taxpayers approximately $3.6 billion a year. The continued enforcement of cannabis prohibition laws resulted in over 350,000 arrests in 2020, disproportionately impacting people of color who are almost 4 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than their white counter parts, despite equal rates of use across populations.
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The bill points to an issue many Texas have decried about since 2015, and that are the fees associated with running a marijuana dispensary. Of which there are only 2 legally operating out of the allowed 3 in Texas. The bill notes that applicants for cannabis licenses are limited by numerous laws, regulations, and exorbitant permit applications, licensing fees, and costs in these States, which can require more than $700,000.
Decriminalization of Cannabis
Cannabis removed from schedule of controlled substances
Cannabis is to be removed from the schedule of controlled substances by statute. The bill outlines this stating Schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act is amended in subsection by striking ‘‘Marihuana.’’; and by inserting ‘‘in cannabis (as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act) or tetrahydrocannabinols’’ before ‘‘in hemp’’; and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: ‘‘Such term does not include any substance made of or derived from cannabis (as defined by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act) or hemp (as defined in section 297A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946)’’.
The bill also calls for the Attorney General to finalize a rule making under the Controlled Substance Act to remove marijuana and THC in cannabis from the schedules of controlled substances. Going as far as to state requirements for this rule such as, marihuana and tetrahydrocannabinols in cannabis (as so defined) shall each be deemed to be a drug or other substance that does not meet the requirements for inclusion in any schedule.
A rule making under this paragraph shall be considered to have taken effect as of the date of enactment of this Act for purposes of any offense committed, case pending, conviction entered, and, in the case of a juvenile, any offense committed, case pending, and adjudication of juvenile delinquency entered before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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Retroactivity regarding decriminalization
This is echoed again in the bill under retroactivity, the amendments made by this section to the controlled Substances Act are retroactive and shall apply to any offense committed, case pending, conviction entered, and, in the case of a juvenile, any offense committed, case pending, or adjudication of juvenile delinquency entered before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
If understood correctly this would mean than convictions for marijuana offenses are to be retroactively affected. It will affect cases that took place before the enactment of this act. Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, United States Marshals Service, or United States Parole Commission, as applicable, shall release from its control, and the sentencing court shall enter an order vacating the conviction and sentence.
This would apply for any individual convicted or sentenced before the date of enactment of this Act for any Federal offense involving marijuana, marihuana tetrahydrocannabinols. And any individual that is not serving a sentence for any conduct not covered by this Act or serving multiple sentences as provided in section 3584 of 21 title 18, United States Code.
Whether or not this may affect Texas cases will remain to be seen as it appears it will have to take place at a state level for state offenses, and the public should inquire with a cannabis focused attorney on such matters.
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Other conforming amendments
The bill seeks to change FAA and FTA regulations with the Secretary of Transportation. As well the language seeks to change contraband language for prisons on a federal level. Then there are outlines for dealing with cannabis testing.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services or the head of an agency may deem cannabis to be a schedule I controlled substance within the meaning of the Controlled Substances Act. And make it unlawful to possess, exclusively for the purpose of drug testing of any law enforcement officer or any Federal employee in a position that the head of an agency determines, in writing, to have significant involvement in national security or the protection of life, property, public health, or public safety, provided that either such employee is subject to this section, Executive Order 12564, or other applicable Federal laws and orders.
There will be a re-designation of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau as the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Tax and Trade Bureau. Adding that any reference in other materials or codes to the previous title would now be a referring to the new designation.
Public Safety and State’s Rights
State’s Rights with legalization
The bill immediately begins it’s states rights section with what most of the hemp community has been familiar with, interstate and intrastate commerce. Unlike the hemp bill, marijuana will be treated differently.
The bill states that all cannabis transported into any State or territory of the United States or remaining therein for use, consumption, sale, or storage therein, shall, upon arrival in that State or territory, be subject to the operation and effect of the laws of that State or territory enacted in the exercise of its police powers. And that it can be done so to the same extent and in the same manner as though the cannabis had been produced in that State or territory. It shall not be exempt therefrom by reason of being introduced therein in original packages or otherwise.
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Basically, any transport of marijuana through a state that has not legalized marijuana, will still be illegal in that state. Even if it is being transported to an legal state. The legal cannabis becomes illegal at that point, as the federal government will allow an illegal state to treat the cannabis as though it originated from the illegal state apprehended in.
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The bill states that doing this will also still be prohibited on a federal level. The shipment or transportation, in any manner or by any means whatsoever, of cannabis from a place subject to the jurisdiction thereof, into any other place that is subject to the jurisdiction thereof, which said cannabis is intended, by any person interested therein, to be received, possessed, sold, or in any manner used, in violation of any law of the receiving place subject to the jurisdiction thereof, is prohibited.
There is an exemption carved out for tribal lands though.
No State or Indian Tribe may prohibit the transportation or shipment of cannabis or cannabis products through the State or the territory of the Indian Tribe as applicable. Meaning the state may have outlawed cannabis but it cannot stop another legal area from transporting it through the state for the purpose of it arriving on tribal lands.
States will still be able to maintain authorization over the cultivation of marijuana that results in over 10lbs of product. A person will not be able to knowingly grow, manufacture, ship, transport, receive, possess, sell, or distribute or purchase 10 pounds or more of cannabis without authorization under a State law or pursuant to a permit issued under section 301 of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act.
That act will also be amended by this proposed act to reflect as such. The bill repeats itself for 20lbs of product as well.
Tracking and Tracing with legalization
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting through the Administrator of the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Tax and Trade Bureau and in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall issue regulations relating to the tracking and tracing of cannabis products.
The Secretary shall put regulations into effect regarding the establishment and maintenance of records by any person who manufactures, processes, transports, distributes, receives, packages, holds, exports, or
imports cannabis products. In creating those regulations, the Secretary shall consider which records are needed for inspection to monitor the movement of cannabis products from the point of production through distribution to retail outlets.
This will be done to assist in investigating potential illicit trade, smuggling, or counterfeiting of cannabis products. The Secretary may require codes on the labels of cannabis products or other designs or devices for the purpose of tracking or tracing the cannabis product through the distribution system.
The Secretary shall not require any retailer to maintain records relating to individual purchasers of cannabis products for personal consumption.
This is quite a bit to take in and there is still much left of the bill to review and digest. Texas Cannabis Collective plans to go into further detail about this bill over more articles. Be sure to subscribe to get an email when updates are released.