Last month, the U.S. Senate was introduced to a marijuana reform bill that seeks to federally legalize marijuana and promote social equity. The first draft, unveiled over a year ago, has been revised into its final version consisting of 296 pages that now incorporate feedback from more than 1,800 comments.
Last month, the U.S. Senate introduced a marijuana reform bill that seeks to federally legalize marijuana and promote social equity. The first draft, unveiled over a year ago, has been revised into its final version consisting of 296 pages that now incorporate feedback from more than 1,800 comments. After the draft version was first released, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) formally filed the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA).
The bill holds a lot of hope for many advocates and stakeholders, who eagerly await the possibility of the bill being passed. The bill could lead to a more incremental reform package that could help end failing prohibition in America. There has been clear House support for a comprehensive legalization bill. The chamber voted to pass a similar measure in April called the Marijuana Opposition, Reinvestigation and Expungement (MORE) Act. CAOA's current revision focuses on multiple concerns, such as workers' rights within the cannabis industry. It also focuses on federal responsibility to set an impaired driving standard, banking access, and expungements and punishments for possessing or distributing large quantities of marijuana without a federal permit. While basic FDA standards would need to be met, the bill also stipulates that the agency cannot prevent cannabis businesses from marketing marijuana food items.
While Schumer originally stated that the CAOA would be filed in April, that never happened. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, chaired by Senator Booker, is scheduled to conduct a hearing titled " Decriminalizing Cannabis at the Federal Level: Necessary Steps to Address Past Harms". Although details about what will be discussed at the hearing are limited, the CAOA is sure to be the main talking point now that it has been filed. Since the CAOA has been revised, its framework now covers an array of cannabis issues that are either unique to the bill or have previously been proposed as standalone bills. One of its unique features is that the bill would create a new federal definition for hemp, increasing THC's permissible dry weight from 0.3 percent to 0.7 percent. However, this would include all THC isomers, not just Delta-9 THC. Additional provisions of the bill include: those 21 and older would be allowed to purchase recreational marijuana, physicians with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs would be authorized to issue recommendations for medical cannabis to veterans, and records would be expunged for those within one year of enactment for low-level, federal cannabis convictions.
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