House Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Marijuana Legalization Bill

www.forbes.com House Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Marijuana Legalization Bill

Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives last week refiled the States Reform Act, a bipartisan bill to legalize and regulate marijuana at the national level.

The new version of the legislation has not yet been made public, according to Marijuana Moment. But when originally introduced, the bill was seen as an alternative to the Marijuana Opportunity and Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a federal cannabis legalization measure supported by many Democrats. The MORE Act was refiled in September by Representative Jerrold Nadler, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, with co-sponsorship from 33 fellow Democrats.

Under the original version of Mace’s bill, cannabis would be removed from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, and the states would be allowed to take the lead on marijuana legalization and regulation for their jurisdictions. At the federal level, cannabis would be regulated like alcohol, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture responsible for regulating growers while medical uses would be overseen by the Food and Drug Administration.

House Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Marijuana Legalization BillThe STATES Reform Act also ensures safe harbor for state medical marijuana programs and patient access to medicinal cannabis. The legislation also specifically protects the use of medical cannabis as a treatment for arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, sickle cell disease, HIV/AIDS and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Criminal justice reform provisions of the bill include the release of prisoners convicted of federal nonviolent cannabis-related offenses and the expungement of records of such convictions. Cartel members, agents of cartel gangs, or those convicted of driving under the influence will not be eligible for relief, however. Mace’s office estimated that approximately 2,600 federal prisoners would be released if the legislation is signed into law.

37 comments

I don't know about this, guys. I smoked marijuana once and now I'm gay.

47
- It can have many other deleterious effects as well. I also smoked marijuana once. Now I'm old, and a boomer.
  
  17
- I used to be gay too, but I still am.
  
  12
  
  Nearly a Mitch Hedberg quote.
  
  1
- Correlation. Does. Not. Equal. Causation.
  
  Besides, everyone knows pot doesn't make you gay, it was the fluoride, everyone knows that.
  
  3
  
  The fluoride made my chocolate hole tickle. Now I can't stop getting it scratched.
  
  1
- I also don't know, I smoked it more than once and am at best a 1 on the Kinsey scale. Maybe I didn't smoke enough?
  
  2
- I don't think those are related, buddy.
  
  -1
  
  That's the joke
  
  5
Two questions:

Can I grow some in my house for my use?

Will it retroactively release those in prison for marijuana convictions?

If the answers are yes then I am all for it.
33
- Depends on the state. This is just for removing the federal law against marijuana, states can and probably will still have laws against it. So it'll be up to the state to decide on those two questions, the trend though has been yes to both of them. Looks good for people convicted federally:
  
  Criminal justice reform provisions of the bill include the release of prisoners convicted of federal nonviolent cannabis-related offenses and the expungement of records of such convictions
  
  But that's probably a small amount of cases pertaining to people crossing state lines with marijuana. Most offenses would probably be at the state level.
  
  18
  
  The bigger benefit is that federal employees living in states that have legalized it will finally be able to enjoy it
  
  2
Sensible legislation? Surely this won't pass.

22
And even if this somehow passes Texas will still keep it illegal.

14
- Texas already has medicinal marijuana, and public opinion on the matter is in favor of legalization.
  
  I think once Abbot realizes how much tax revenue he can squeeze out of it, he'll support it.
  
  7
  
  The Texas medical program is a joke though.
  
  I think Abbott cares more about winning Evangelical votes than enriching the State; after all, the revenue isn't a secret. Colorado has had recreational for over a decade.
  
  13
- That's OK, they will just keep going north into Oklahoma to get it.
  
  2
  
  You need a med card to get it in OK; that's exceedingly rare in TX.
  
  2
If they keep going at this brisk pace we might get full legalization in 2032

14
I don't understand the point of regulating marijuana growing at all. Seems like just another way for the government to make excuses to find another tax revenue stream

7
- Regulation is in the Public's Interest. Sure, you may see it as a Government revenue stream, but it has merit. Regulating industries results in:
  
  Better, quality products
  
  Preventing price fixing and monopolies
  
  Promoting growth and innovation without fear of competitive retaliation
  
  To ensure the true costs and benefits are reflected in the market
  
  TL;DR: We wouldn't want the marijuana mafia price fixing our weed man.
  
  31
  
  I agree for industrial, but small scale it shouldn't be. If you want to just grow some for your use, and maybe some for friends/family/neighbors or whatever not for profit, you should be allowed to.
  
  1
- You don't want marijuana farmers using toxic chemicals to increase yield. You also want the end product regulated so people don't start dying like they did with the EVALI incident.
  
  Regulation is a great thing when it's not abused.
  
  13
- Idk, I'd rather not find out what happens when you smoke Roundup.
  
  7
  
  I'm mostly referring to growing your own stuff. The government likes to try to regulate how much of your own stuff you can grow
  
  3
Marijuana is great, replaced alcohol for me and I get the giggles

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The fact that the House has its own version probably means it's full of poison pill bullshit.

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- Looks like the STATES version is an attempt to keep it medical at the federal level instead of just regulating it like alcohol.
  
  4
let's GOOOOOOOOO

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