WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate majority leader, said he plans to propose legislation to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. Should Schumer’s bill see success, it would break a logjam in the Senate, which has consistently failed to pass legislation to decriminalize cannabis even as the House has passed such legislation.
The result has long put many credit unions that serve marijuana-related businesses in a worrisome position, as it remains illegal at the federal level even as more than half of all states have now voted to legalize pot.
The draft bill, called the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and begin regulating and taxing it. In addition, the proposal would also try to make recompense to communities of color and the poor for damage from years of restrictive federal drug policy.
Other Provisions
The legislation calls for immediately expunging nonviolent marijuana-related arrests and convictions from federal records and would earmark new tax revenue for restorative justice programs intended to lift communities affected by “the failed federal prohibition of cannabis,” the New York Times reported.
The bill aims to “finally turn the page on this dark chapter in American history and begin righting these wrongs,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who wrote the bill with Schumer and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) (who is also the chairman of the Finance Committee).
The Times noted the legislation once again faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Republicans are opposed, and it is unlikely to become law in the near future.
‘Likely to Balk’
“President Biden has not endorsed it, and some moderate Democrats are likely to balk at the implications of decriminalizing a drug that has been policed and stigmatized for so long,” The Times noted.
Schumer said he is trying to prod Washington off the sidelines of a debate in which much of the country was already engaged. The Times also noted public opinion polling suggests that nearly 70% of Americans support legalizing marijuana.