Politics
Trump’s Attorney General Would Form A Marijuana Commission To Prepare For Federal Legalization Under New Senate Bill
A Democratic senator has filed a bill aimed at laying the groundwork for federal marijuana legalization.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) introduced the legislation—titled the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment Act (PREPARE) Act—on Thursday.
The measure would direct the attorney general to create a commission charged with making recommendations on a regulatory system for cannabis that models what’s currently in place for alcohol.
It was filed on the same day that President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing marijuana to be rescheduled from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.
Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) introduced a version of the cannabis commission bill in the House in April, and Hickenlooper has sponsored iterations of the legislation over the past two Congresses.
Hickenlooper, who served as governor of Colorado when voters approved a recreational cannabis legalization initiative in 2012, which he campaigned against at the time, said in a social media post on Monday that Trump’s marijuana executive order represents “another example of Colorado blazing the trail.”
“Now release and expunge records for everyone who was charged with federal marijuana crimes,” he said, “and let’s pass our bill to prepare us for federal legalization while we’re at it.”
Here’s what the bill would accomplish:
Require the attorney general to establish a “Commission on the Federal Regulation of Cannabis” within 30 days of the bill’s enactment.
The commission would be responsible for studying federal and state regulatory models for alcohol and make recommendations about how they could inform marijuana regulations.
Among other things, the commission’s report must look at the impact of marijuana criminalization, particularly as it concerns minority, low-income and veteran communities.
The panel would also examine the “lack of consistent regulations for cannabis product safety, use and labeling requirements,” including those related to youth safety, as well as the “lack of guidance for cannabis crop production, sale, intrastate, interstate, and international trade.“
It would also need to make recommendations on how to remedy cannabis-related banking and research barriers as well as address measures to ensure the “successful coexistence of individual hemp and cannabis industries, including prevention of cross pollination of cannabis and hemp products.”
Members would further be mandated to study and make recommendations on “efficient cannabis revenue reporting and collecting, including efficient and tenable federal revenue frameworks.”
The panel would be required to issue a report to Congress within 12 months.
The commission would also include representatives of:
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Justice
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Department of Interior
- Department of Education
- Department of Labor
- Department of Treasury
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
- National Institutes of Health
- Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
- Food and Drug Administration
- Internal Revenue Service
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Small Business Administration
- U.S. Trade Representative
- Office of Minority Health
- Indian Health Service
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It would also include a person formerly incarcerated for a non-violent cannabis use or possession crime, a substance use disorder prevention expert, an expert on the history of marijuana criminalization, a person with knowledge about cannabis research, a representative from a trade organization or nonprofit representing highly regulated adult goods and consumer package goods and two people who have worked to develop state-level regulatory systems.
Some of the appointments would be made by the attorney general, and others would come from congressional leaders. The bill also contains a stipulation that, “if after the commission is appointed there is a partisan imbalance of commission members, the congressional leaders of the political party with fewer members on the commission shall jointly name additional members to create partisan parity on the commission.”
Read the full text of the new marijuana commission bill below:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26414041-prepare-act-119th-congress-senate/
