States Reform Act: Republican-led Legislation to Federally Legalize Cannabis
Cannabis is still Federally Illegal — now Democrats and Republicans are both forming legislation to change that. Will either pass?
Yesterday, November 15, 2021, Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC-01) hosted a press conference brief reporters about her new cannabis legislation titled the “States Reform Act.”
The bill is aimed at decriminalizing, regulating, and taxing cannabis. It also includes measures intended to expand cannabis access for veterans and to expunge cannabis-only related arrest records.
The proposed law is specific — in cases where cannabis-only arrest records can be expunged, the law lists several exceptions for cartel members and non-violent crimes. It specifies that property that was seized as part of cases that were only regarding cannabis must be returned.
Title II of the bill is focused on the regulation of cannabis like alcohol. In it, the bill outlines how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Agriculture should treat crops related to cannabis like those related to alcohol (much like barley, hops, and grain). The 3% tax, which is lower than comparative bills from democrats (and earlier versions of this bill) would be paid to the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Tax and Trade Bureau in the Treasury Department (which is a renaming of the current Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau ). This agency would also be tasked with the creation of a federal track and trace system in addition to labeling rules.
The bill is also explicit about the transference of responsibility regarding cannabis from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to another newly renamed bureau, that of “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Cannabis, Firearms, and Explosives.”
While all cannabis businesses would require a federal permit, Mace’s legislation defers legal status to the states themselves, allowing states to grandfather their legislation.
The bill also alters quite a few small business provisions aimed to help bolster cannabis businesses by allowing them access to microloans, disaster loans, and other state and local development loan programs.
There are veteran’s care provisions that seek to fix issues where veterans are unable to access medically-prescribed cannabis. It also has a provision to ensure that veterans are no longer discriminated against in federal hiring.
I’d like to pause here and say that yes, it’s important that veterans receive this support. But as someone who is a cannabis user and a citizen — why will I not receive the same support when it comes to discrimination against me in hiring? My medical usage of cannabis, in addition to that of other non-veterans, has been used to help make it legal, but that has made me a federal criminal. Coupled with my usage of medical marijuana, and I am nearly unemployable in many industries due to the fact I voluntarily identified as a medical user.
Overall, I’d say it’s a decent start, but what troubles me isn’t particularly what’s in the bill — it’s the fact that until it’s as profitable for lawmakers to have cannabis be federally legal as it is for them to keep it illegal — we aren’t going to see change. It’s been a long time since cannabis legalization has only been on one ‘side’ of the political or the other. I appreciate the breathless excitement some have over the fact that it’s a Republican that has introduced this legislation, but I also am firmly aware of how much money these politicians make by keeping cannabis illegal.
Many bills are being introduced in the hopes to rectify the crazy situation that we have in the United States — where cannabis is simultaneously federally illegal and an essential industry. There’s a lot of crazy in the cannabis industry that happens because of its federally illegal status (the movie Ladybuds has a great case study). I am hopeful that there will finally be a movement to protect cannabis users, but I am not sure how this legislation greatly differs from other efforts that have been made.
Article Sources:
Press Kit
https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article255830711.html