Senate Dems Ready To Introduce Cannabis Bill, Hearing Scheduled Next Week

As Congress is set to take a break for its traditional August recess, and as this year’s midterm elections approach, Senate Democrats are finally ready to submit a bill to end the federal pot ban. It looks like there is.

The Senate Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism schedule Next week’s hearing entitled “Criminalization of Cannabis at the Federal Level: Steps Needed to Address Past Harm”.

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), chair of the subcommittee, played a leading role in drafting the Senate cannabis reform bill.

The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Bloomberg had report Earlier, the Senate Democrats intended to submit a bill this week.

Whenever the bill goes down, it will represent the long-awaited action from the Democratic rally that systematically moved to cannabis reform-despite the recurring pledge from the leader that it will be achieved.

At the beginning of April, Democrats in the House of Representatives passed their own pot legalization package. It’s the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and MORE Act to unschedule cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act.

The Senate Democratic Party said it would proceed with its own cannabis reform bill, supervised by Booker, Oregon State Senator Ron Wyden, and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer.

After previously stating that the Senate would release its own version by the end of April, Schumer said the bill was likely to be introduced near the parliamentary recess in August.

And after a recent suggestion that Senate Democrats may be trying to offer a more modest reform package, they seem to be in line with the House of Representatives and ending the federal ban.

Politico report Last month, Schumaer “has no vote to pass a cannabis non-criminalization bill, despite repeatedly promoting his support for ending the federal ban,” and “realization is to Senate Democrats. We are leading you to find a compromise in weeds. “

But Bloomberg report Last week, the Democratic Party will showcase the bills that Booker, Weiden, and Schumer have been working on. The Cannabis Management and Opportunity Act removes the pot from the Controlled Substances Act, but also gives the state the discretion to establish its own cannabis. law.

“The bill faces a long probability of being evenly divided chambers of commerce,” Bloomberg said, requiring 60 votes to pass.

The bill faces great opposition from Republicans and even some Democrats.

President Joe Biden has long said he was in favor of the criminalization of cannabis, but not the full legalization, but he had a hard time explaining the distinction.

Earlier this week, Biden reiterated his belief that “use of marijuana should not be put in jail” and worked with Congress on a bill to fulfill its promise to release prisoners in prison for pot-related crimes. Said that.

It is unclear whether he will support the House of Representatives MORE Act or the Senate Cannabis Management and Opportunity Act.

Despite the slow-motion development of the bill in the Senate, Schumer was evident in his support for wiping out cannabis reform.

“We will move forward,” Schumer said. I told Politico last year.. “”[Biden] Because he said he was studying the problem [I] Obviously I want to give him a little time to study it. I would like to give him my discussion, as many other supporters do. But at some point we are going to move forward, period. “

“In 2018, I was the first member of the Democratic leadership to come out in support of ending the federal ban. I’m sure you’ll ask,’What has changed?’ Well, my thoughts have evolved. When some of the early states (Oregon and Colorado) wanted to be legalized, all opponents talked about a parade of horror: crime will go up. The use of narcotics will increase. All bad things will happen, “he added. “The legalization of the states was very successful. They were a great success. The parade of horror never happened, and people gained more freedom. And the people of those states were very Looks happy. “