Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill Deserves Lawmakers’ Support, Letter From ACLU And Other Groups Says

A coalition of drug policy reform and civil rights organizations sent
letter urging members of the U.S. House of Representatives to cosponsor a recently
filed bill to federally legalize marijuana and promote equity.

The letter, led by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), expresses support for
the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which
was reintroduced by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and about three dozen
cosponsors late last month.

This marks the fourth session in a row that Nadler has put forward the
proposal. It passed the House twice under Democratic control while the
sponsor served as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, but it did not
advance last session with Republicans in the majority.

“The MORE Act is the leading comprehensive marijuana reform bill in the
House that ends federal prohibition, addresses the collateral consequences
of federal marijuana criminalization, and takes steps to ensure the
regulated marketplace is diverse and inclusive,” the letter—which was also
signed by groups such as the ACLU, National Association of Criminal Defense
Lawyers, National Association of Social Workers, Service Employees
International Union and Southern Poverty Law Center—says.

“For generations, marijuana’s placement on the [Controlled Substances Act,
or CSA] has disproportionately inflicted harm upon communities of color and
poor people,” the groups wrote.

They noted that the Trump administration is actively considering a proposal
to simply reschedule cannabis, which they described as “a policy that would
continue federal cannabis criminalization and its harm.”

With that reform pending, it’s “more important than ever for Congress to
advance comprehensive legislation to deschedule marijuana from the CSA,”
the letter says. “To be clear, as long as marijuana remains anywhere in the
CSA, it will still be criminalized at the federal level.”

“Recent news reports have suggested that President Trump may move marijuana
to Schedule III of the CSA. While this move would eliminate an unfair tax
penalty on the marijuana industry and would be of symbolic importance by
recognizing that marijuana has accepted medical use, little else would
change. In fact, rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of
CSA will maintain the criminal penalties and collateral consequences that
are in effect today. To fully address the conflict between state and
federal laws, marijuana must be descheduled from the CSA.”

Other signatories on the letter include Cannabis Regulators of Color
Coalition (CRCC), Doctors for Drug Policy Reform, JustLeadershipUSA, Last
Prisoner Project (LPP), Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), Lawyers’
Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Minority Cannabis Business
Association (MCBA), Mission Green, NORML, Students for Sensible Drug Policy
(SSDP), Supernova Women and more.

*Here are details about the key provisions of the MORE Act: *

- The bill would deschedule marijuana by removing it from the list of
federally banned drugs under the CSA. However, it would not require states
to legalize cannabis and would maintain a level of regulatory discretion up
to states.
- Marijuana products would be subject to a federal excise tax, starting
at five percent for the first two years after enactment and rising to eight
percent by the fifth year of implementation.
- Nobody could be denied federal public benefits based solely on the use
or possession of marijuana or past juvenile conviction for a cannabis
offense. Federal agencies couldn’t use “past or present cannabis or
marijuana use as criteria for granting, denying, or rescinding a security
clearance.”
- People could not be penalized under federal immigration laws for any
cannabis related activity or conviction, whether it occurred before or
after the enactment of the legalization legislation.
- The bill creates a process for expungements of non-violent federal
marijuana convictions.
- Tax revenue from cannabis sales would be placed in a new “Opportunity
Trust Fund.” Half of those tax dollars would support a “Community
Reinvestment Grant Program” under the Justice Department, 10 percent would
support substance misuse treatment programs, 40 percent would go to the
federal Small Business Administration (SBA) to support implementation and a
newly created equitable licensing grant program.
- The Community Reinvestment Grant Program would “fund eligible
non-profit community organizations to provide a variety of services for
individuals adversely impacted by the War on Drugs…to include job training,
reentry services, legal aid for civil and criminal cases (including for
expungement of cannabis convictions), among others.”
- The program would further support funding for substance misuse
treatment for people from communities disproportionately impacted by drug
criminalization. Those funds would be available for programs offering
services to people with substance misuse disorders for any drug, not just
cannabis.
- While the bill wouldn’t force states to adopt legalization, it would
create incentives to promote equity. For example, SBA would facilitate a
program to providing licensing grants to states and localities that have
moved to expunge records for people with prior marijuana convictions or
“taken steps to eliminate violations or other penalties for persons still
under State or local criminal supervision for a cannabis-related offense or
violation for conduct now lawful under State or local law.”
- The bill’s proposed Cannabis Restorative Opportunity Program would
provide funds “for loans to assist small business concerns that are owned
and controlled by individuals adversely impacted by the War on Drugs in
eligible States and localities.”
- The comptroller general, in consultation with the head of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), would be required to carry
out a study on the demographics of people who have faced federal marijuana
convictions, “including information about the age, race, ethnicity, sex,
and gender identity.”
- The departments of treasury, justice and the SBA would need to “issue
or amend any rules, standard operating procedures, and other legal or
policy guidance necessary to carry out implementation of the MORE Act”
within one year of its enactment.
- Marijuana producers and importers would also need to obtain a federal
permit. And they would be subject to a $1,000 per year federal tax as well
for each premise they operate.
- The bill would impose certain packaging and labeling requirements.
- It also prescribes penalties for unlawful conduct such as illegal,
unlicensed production or importation of cannabis products.
- The Treasury secretary would be required to carry out a study “on the
characteristics of the cannabis industry, with recommendations to improve
the regulation of the industry and related taxes.”
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) would be required to “regularly
compile, maintain, and make public data on the demographics” of marijuana
business owners and workers.
- Workers in “safety sensitive” positions, such as those regulated by
the Department of Transportation, could continue to be drug tested for THC
and face penalties for unauthorized use. Federal workers would also
continue to be subject to existing drug testing policies.
- References to “marijuana” or “marihuana” under federal statute would
be changed to “cannabis.” It’s unclear if that would also apply to the
title of the bill itself.

Getting a bill like the MORE Act through the GOP-controlled House and
Senate is a tall task, however. And while Trump previously endorsed a
Florida legalization ballot initiative, he’s given little indication he’d
be willing to end prohibition altogether at the federal level.

A pending proposal to simply move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III
under the CSA is still in flux—though the president did recently say a
decision was imminent.


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps,
charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.*


*Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on
Patreon to get access. —*

Numerous voices within Trump’s circles have expressed differing opinions on
the reform.

Most recently, for example, Ben Carson, Trump’s former secretary of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), said a move to
reschedule marijuana would play into plots to “destroy this country.”

Trump’s former press secretary Sean Spicer and his long-time advisor Roger
Stone recently traded diverging takes on the prospect of the administration
moving forward on marijuana rescheduling.

Stone separately made the case for reform in an op-ed for Marijuana Moment last
month.

Retired boxer Mike Tyson, meanwhile, recently spoke about the need for
federal marijuana rescheduling on a podcast hosted by the wife of White
House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller—saying he’s expecting
“good news” on the issue soon.

In June, the retired boxer also took to Fox News and delivered a message to
the president, urging him to reschedule, and ultimately legalize, marijuana.

That interview came days after Tyson led a letter alongside other
professional athletes and celebrities promoting cannabis reform that was
sent to Trump, calling for rescheduling marijuana, expanding clemency and
allowing licensed cannabis businesses to access the banking system.

Meanwhile, Trump’s former senior advisor Kellyanne Conway has been the
“biggest champion” of marijuana rescheduling within the president’s “inner
circle,” a GOP congressman recently told Marijuana Moment.

*Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.*

The post Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill Deserves Lawmakers’ Support,
Letter From ACLU And Other Groups Says appeared first on Marijuana Moment.