marijuana legalization

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The House is not slowing down on the push for legalization of marijuana. There have been five bills introduced in the United States House of Representatives since the beginning of the 115th Congress (2017-2018). In addition, CO Representative, Jared Polis, has stated he will introduce his “Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act” again this year. Four of the five bills were introduced by Republicans and one by Democrats, showing marijuana legalization is a bipartisan issue. All five bills are aimed at loosening federal restrictions on marijuana.

HR – 1227, titled “Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act” was introduced on February 27, 2017 by Representative Thomas Garrett a Republican from Virginia. The text is the same as the Senate Bill introduced in 2015 (S. 2237) by Senator Bernie Sanders. The purpose is to remove “marihuana” and “tetrahydrocannabinols” from Schedule I of section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In 2017, Rep. Garrett’s bill is co-sponsored by six house members: Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI); Scott Taylor (R-VA); Jared Polis (D-CO); Earl Blumenauer (D-OR); Don Young (R-AK); Justin Amash (R-MI).

HR – 975, titled “Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2017” was introduced on February 7, 2017 by Representative Dana Rohrabacher a Republican from California. Rep. Rohrabacher introduced a “Respect State Marijuana Laws Act” in the 2013-2014 and 2015-2016.   The purpose is to amend the CSA for any provisions as related to marihuana.  The provisions shall not apply to any person who produces, possesses, distributes, dispenses, administers, or delivers marijuana in compliance with state law.  In 2017, Rep. Rohrabacher’s bill is co-sponsored by 14 house members:  Steve Cohen (D-TN); Don Young (R-AK); Mark Pocan (D-WI); Ted Yoho (R-FL); Earl Blumenauer (D-OR); Tom McClintock (R-CA); Dina Titus (D-NV); Duncan Hunter (R-CA); Jared Polis (D-CO); Justin Amash (R-MI); Barbara Lee (D-CA); Thomas Massie (R-KY); Mike Coffman (R-CO); Peter Welch (D-VT).

On February 17, 2017 four Congressmen announced a bipartisan “Congressional Cannabis Caucus”. Republican representatives Don Young (AK) and Dana Rohrbacher (CA) joined democrats Earl Blumeanauer (OR) and Jared Polis (CO) as co-chairs of the new caucus.  In a press conference, they each outlined the importance of the caucus to their individual states and to the country.  Representative Rohrbacher started by outlining the changes to the country’s outlook on marijuana, as 44 states now have laws permitting marijuana at varying levels.  He noted the economic benefits and the importance of continuing to make progress on this issue.  Representative Blumeanauer outlined four critical areas that need to be addressed 1. Not allowing the Federal government to prevent marijuana research; 2. Gaining access to marijuana for veterans, (VA hospitals are not allowed to prescribe medical marijuana); 3. Removing IRS code 280E which prohibits marijuana businesses from deducting business expenses on their federal tax returns; and 4. Ending the banking prohibition.

Representative Don Young of Alaska further explained the impact of the banking prohibition. (Marijuana businesses have difficulty getting bank accounts, potentially making it an all cash business.) When there is a great amount of surplus cash, Rep. Young has seen it “cause lots of sideline problems”. He wants to ensure these businesses are able to be run as businesses.  Marijuana businesses should be able to utilize banks for loans and depositing cash.  However, Representative Young’s primary interest in this caucus comes from his belief in state’s rights.  During Q&A Mr. Young pointed out the hypocrisy of a conservative stance against legalization, “you can’t be a conservative and say we can pick and choose, you have to be for state’s rights or against state’s rights…”  Alaska voters “voted to legalize it…pretty large margin” and Mr. Young is a representative of those people.

While I am sure we are all fed up with the current presidential election cycle, the upcoming vote in California to approve recreational marijuana has the potential to be a watershed moment for the national marijuana industry and warrants discussion.  In addition to California, Massachusetts and Maine both have legalization initiatives on the ballot next…