Page 6 - CANNABIS NEWS FL MARCH 2022

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Senate Majority Leader U I R P & P S D R L V V QD W R ' R W F R V U
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Provides Timeline for Introducing
Long-Awaited Marijuana
Descheduling Plan
U.S. Senate Majority Leader future iterations of the
Chuck Schumer announced marketplace.
that he intends to formally As initially drafted, the
introduce the Cannabis Ad - Cannabis Administration
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min istration and Oppor tunity and Opportunity Act 3 H R H O S D O J H V Q G RP YH \ U H

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Act (CAOA) in April. The directs the U.S. Attorney E D F N J U R G Q X H U D W X U J RW L Q Q P H F L G O D ׏ ׎ ׎ ۏ ǣ ɀ Ǹ ٮ I ȸ ƺ ƺ
forthcoming legislation, General to remove mari- P X M L U D D W D R Q Q L I G I H L O H U
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form last July, repeals federal Controlled Substances 5 ( 6 3 2 5 ( $ ' 1 1 ' 3 ( ' ,$ , ' , 6 2 8 1 7 6

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marijuana prohibition by Act — thereby allowing
removing cannabis from the states to either maintain
U.S. Controlled Substances Chuck Schumer or establish their own
Act. cannabis regulatory poli-
Speaking at the event, Sen. Schumer cies free from undue federal interference.
said: “In the coming weeks, we’re ramp- Under this scheme, state governments –
ing up our outreach and we expect to if they choose to do so – can continue to
introduce final legislation. Our goal is to impose criminal penalties for marijuana
do it in April. Then we begin the nation- possession offenses. However, states
wide push, spearheaded by New York, to would not be permitted to prohibit the
get the federal law done. As the majority interstate commerce of legal cannabis
leader, I can set priorities. This is a prior- products transported through their bor-
ity for me.” ders.
NORML’s Political Director Morgan The proposal also mandates for the
Fox responded: “We are enthusiastic that expungement of the records of anyone
the Senator is moving forward on his convicted of a federal, non-violent mari-
promise to prioritize cannabis policy juana offense. The expungements must
reform in the 117th Congress. It is our take place within one year of the law’s
hope that the official introduction of enactment.
CAOA jumpstarts hearings and debates The Act also forbids federal officials
in the Upper Chamber — debates that from taking discriminatory actions
are long overdue.” against those who legally use cannabis. It
In past months, Senate leadership has prohibits “individuals from being denied
received criticism for both the slow roll- any federal public benefit … on the basis
out of the CAOA and for failing to sup- of [the] use or possession of cannabis.” It
port efforts to enact more incremental also, for the first time, permits physicians
federal legislation, such as The SAFE associated with the U.S. Department of
Banking Act, which has been passed mul- Veterans Affairs to make recommenda-
tiple times by the U.S. House of tions to their patients to access medical
Representatives. cannabis.
NORML was among numerous groups The proposal transfers primary agency
that submitted comments in response to jurisdiction over cannabis regulation
CAOA draft. Specifically, NORML called from the U.S. Drug Enforcement
for: Administration to the Food and Drug
• Strengthening civic protections, Administration and to the Alcohol and
including record relief, to provide justice Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in manner
to those previously wronged by federal similar to the ways in which these agen-
marijuana criminalization; cies already oversee alcohol and tobacco
• Revising outdated employment poli- products. A federal excise tax of 10 per-
cies regarding non-scientific testing for cent would be imposed within the first
trace metabolic elements of THC; year of the law’s enactment. Medical
• Ensuring that small and local busi- cannabis access programs, which are
nesses can compete both with larger cor- operational in the majority of U.S. states,
porations and the unregulated market by would not be disrupted under this feder-
reducing regulatory and tax burdens; al plan.
• Narrowing the scope of the proposed The proposed Senate plan is competing
excise tax to exempt medical cannabis against two other House bills, The
consumer markets; MORE Act and The States Reform Act,
• Balancing the roles of the FDA, TTB, both of which also seek to deschedule
ATF, and antitrust regulators in a manner cannabis at the federal level. The MORE
that is consistent with other adult-use Act previously was advanced by the U.S.
substances, such as alcohol or tobacco, House of Representative in the 116th
to ensure non-disruption of currently Congress and is expected to be taken up
operational state programs and promot- again by House lawmakers in the coming
ing increased local ownership in the weeks.
Cannabis News Florida cannabisnewsflorida.com March 2022 43