Senate Democrats unveil bill to legalize marijuana
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer unveiled draft legislation Wednesday that would decriminalize cannabis and expunge federal sentences tied to the drug, which has been legalized in states across the country.
The bill would erase the records of nonviolent marijuana offenders and allow those currently serving time to petition a court for resentencing. Federal tax revenues would support a trust fund to reinvest in communities most impacted by enforcement involving the drug.
Advocates were split over aspects of the bill, which is cosponsored by Sen. Cory Booker, DN.J., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Polling indicates the vast majority of Americans support the legalization of marijuana in some form, and the issue has especially gained steam among advocates for treating veterans’ mental health issues. Schumer said the next step would be to gather feedback from interest groups, many of which were quick to weigh in on Wednesday.
“It is time for legislators to comport federal law with the laws of the growing number of states that have legalized the plant, and it is time for lawmakers to facilitate a federal structure that allows for cannabis commerce so that responsible consumers can obtain high-quality, low-cost cannabis grown right here in America without fear of arrest and incarceration,” advocacy group NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri said in a statement.
Drug Policy Alliance National
Affairs Director Maritza Perez urged lawmakers to drop provisions maintaining drug tests for federal employees and excluding those who received “kingpin” convictions from expunging their records. But another group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, urged a more deliberate approach.
“Decriminalization of minor marijuana possession and expungement of previous records was a key part of President Joe Biden’s platform and should be the path forward, but we cannot let the interests of the for-profit marijuana industry and its investors cloud the discussion,” Kevin Sabet, the organization’s president and a former Obama administration senior drug policy adviser, said. “Much as we have done with COVID, we must heed the science and be cautious with normalizing and promoting marijuana use.”