WILL THE FEDS EVER LEGALIZE MARIJUANA?
by Sarah Lee Gossett Parrish,
Cannabis Lawyer
One of the questions I often am asked is whether I think the feds will legalize marijuana in the near future. Pieces of federal legislation have been introduced to accomplish this—either for medicinal purposes (CARERS Act of 2019), for whatever purposes each particular state has legalized marijuana (STATES Act), or for adult use (MORE Act).
The CARERS Act of 2019, also known as the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States Act of 2019, addresses marijuana usage for medicinal purposes. The bill’s summary states that, among other things, the bill “eliminates regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act for producing, possessing, distributing, dispensing, administering, testing, recommending, or delivering medical marijuana in compliance with state law; establishes a new, separate registration process to facilitate medical marijuana research; and authorizes health care providers employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) to make recommendations to veterans regarding participation in state marijuana programs.”
Thus, the CARERS Act removes penalties for medical marijuana usage in those states where it is legal and specifically authorizes VA doctors to recommend state marijuana programs to veterans.
The STATES Act, also known as the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States Act, prohibits federal interference with marijuana-related activities in those states where, and to the extent in each state that, such marijuana-related activities are legal. The bill’s summary states that it “eliminates regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act for certain marijuana-related activities that comply with state or tribal law”, and “requires the Government Accountability Office to study and report on the effects of marijuana legalization on traffic safety.”
Therefore, the STATES Act goes a step beyond the CARERS Act, removing penalties and prohibiting federal interference not just for medical marijuana related activities but also, in those states where adult usage is legal, then also for adult use marijuana-related activities, so long as such activities do not violate that state’s law or any applicable tribal law.
Notably, on July 30, 2020, the United States House of Representatives passed a Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill that includes the Blumenauer-McClintock-Norton-Lee Amendment, which bars the Justice Department from using taxpayer funds to enforce anti-cannabis federal laws in states which have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes or for adult-use, protecting all state, territory, and tribal cannabis programs from any federal intervention whatsoever. This voice vote represents the second time in history that the House has verbally approved legislative language to restrict interference by the Justice Department with marijuana businesses and consumers located in states where marijuana is legal.
NORML Political Director Justin Strekal issued a public statement opining that “[t]he importance of this bipartisan vote cannot be overstated as today, nearly one in four Americans reside in a jurisdiction where the adult use of cannabis is legal under state statute. It is time for Congress to acknowledge this reality and retain these protections in the final spending bill.”
In fact, July 30, 2020, was a very good day for marijuana on the federal front. United States Senator Tina Smith filed a new bill in the Senate that day, to legalize marijuana federally. Senator Smith’s bill, titled the “Substance Regulation and Safety Act”, states it will “decriminalize and reschedule cannabis”. The bill carries a federal age requirement for marijuana sales of 21, and requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop rules that treat marijuana in the same manner that tobacco is treated.
Kyle Jaeger’s July 31, 2020, article for Marijuana Moment provides additional details of this bill.
Significantly, the bill’s text concerning descheduling provides that those provisions “are retroactive and shall apply to any offense committed, case pending, or conviction entered, and, in the case of a juvenile, any offense committed, case pending, or adjudication of juvenile delinquency entered, before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act.”
Thus, if ultimately passed by the Senate, then the House, and signed into law by the President, this legislation would likely free the vast majority of inmates who currently are incarcerated solely because of sentences arising out of marijuana offenses.
Could it be that significant federal policy change is on the horizon?
Perhaps.
Stay tuned.
