House lawmakers introduce bipartisan Marijuana Legalization Bill
Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives last week refiled a bipartisan bill to legalize and regulate marijuana at the national level.
The legislation, known as the States Reform Act, was reintroduced by South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace, according to a report from online cannabis news source Marijuana Moment.
Mace first introduced the States Reform Act in 2021 with support from four Republican co-sponsors. The new version of the legislation has bipartisan support, with original sponsor and California Republican Tom McClintock, Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Democrats Representative Dean Phillips of Minnesota and Maryland Representative David Trone signed on as co-sponsors.
When Mace first introduced the bill during the last Congress, she expressed hope that the legislation would gain bipartisan support. But the legislation never gained backing beyond the original Republican co-sponsors and never came up for a vote.
The new version of the legislation has not yet been made public, according to Marijuana Moment. But when originally introduced, the bill was seen as an alternative to the Marijuana Opportunity and Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a federal cannabis legalization measure supported by many Democrats. The MORE Act was refiled in September by Representative Jerrold Nadler, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, with co-sponsorship from 33 fellow Democrats.
Bill Removes Cannabis From Controlled Substances List
Under the original version of Mace’s bill, cannabis would be removed from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, and the states would be allowed to take the lead on marijuana legalization and regulation for their jurisdictions. At the federal level, cannabis would be regulated like alcohol, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture responsible for regulating growers while medical uses would be overseen by the Food and Drug Administration.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau will regulate cannabis products under the bill. The States Reform Act also levies a three percent federal excise tax on cannabis products, with revenue raised dedicated to funding law enforcement, small business, and veterans mental health initiatives.
The STATES Reform Act also ensures safe harbor for state medical marijuana programs and patient access to medicinal cannabis. The legislation also specifically protects the use of medical cannabis as a treatment for arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, sickle cell disease, HIV/AIDS and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Criminal justice reform provisions of the bill include the release of prisoners convicted of federal nonviolent cannabis-related offenses and the expungement of records of such convictions. Cartel members, agents of cartel gangs, or those convicted of driving under the influence will not be eligible for relief, however. Mace’s office estimated that approximately 2,600 federal prisoners would be released if the legislation is signed into law.
“This bill supports veterans, law enforcement, farmers, businesses, those with serious illnesses, and it is good for criminal justice reform. Furthermore, a super-majority of Americans support an end to cannabis prohibition, which is why only 3 states in the country have no cannabis reform at all,” Mace said in a 2021 statement about the legislation. “The States Reform Act takes special care to keep Americans and their children safe while ending federal interference with state cannabis laws. Washington needs to provide a framework which allows states to make their own decisions on cannabis moving forward. This bill does that.”
Mace had reportedly obtained a commitment from then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to schedule a markup hearing on her bill, which never happened. Mace was one of eight House Republicans to vote to oust McCarthy last month, leading to three weeks of turmoil in Congress while a new speaker was chosen.
Mace’s reintroduction of the States Reform Act comes in the midst of calls from the Biden administration to reschedule marijuana under the CSA. Democrats also recently introduced a revised version of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, a bill that would give state-legal cannabis businesses easier access to banking services.
