Three Democratic lawmakers intent on reforming the nation’s cannabis policy are seeking input on a federal marijuana legalization bill with a letter sent to their colleagues in the Senate on Thursday. The letter written by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer of New York, Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden of Oregon and New Jersey’s Sen. Cory Booker invites fellow senators “into the drafting process as we work to finalize this legislation.”

“In order to appropriately address such a nuanced issue, we respectfully request the input, advice and guidance of Chairs and Ranking Members of relevant committees as well as senators who have dealt with the challenges and realities of legalization in their own states,” the Democratic senators wrote in their letter.

Schumer, Wyden and Booker noted that 37 states have now passed laws to legalize cannabis in some form, writing that “Alaska, Montana, Arizona, and others have followed Colorado, Washington, and Oregon in reforming their outdated cannabis laws. Even voters in a state as conservative as South Dakota have demonstrated their support for legalization.”

“As more and more states move to legalize cannabis for both adult and medical use, the federal government has an important role to play. Hundreds of millions of Americans live in states that have legalized cannabis in some form while it remains illegal at the federal level,” the three senators added. “This discrepancy leads to confusion and uncertainty and raises significant questions around criminal justice reform, economic development and small business growth, and public health and safety, all of which we believe require some type of federal answer.”

Democratic Draft Bill Released Last Year

The three Democrats have all been working to reform the nation’s marijuana laws with new legislation. Last year, they shared what they characterized as a “discussion draft” of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA). The 30-page document detailed several areas of federal cannabis regulation that are not consistent with marijuana policy changes made at the state level and established a comprehensive plan to federally legalize marijuana. The legislation would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and establish a framework for the expungement of federal cannabis convictions.

The measure also establishes a federal tax on marijuana products, with revenue dedicated to grant programs designed to invest in communities disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs. The CAOA would also strip authority over marijuana regulation from the Drug Enforcement Administration and shift most responsibilities to the Food and Drug Administration, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau also assuming some regulatory duties.

At a recent event in New York, Schumer said that he would formally introduce the legislation as soon as April, noting that he had made cannabis reform a top priority as Senate majority leader.

“As majority leader, I can set priorities,” Schumer said. “This is a priority for me.”

The senators noted in Thursday’s letter that they have received more than 1,800 comments from stakeholders on the CAOA proposal so far, “many with substantive and detailed policy recommendations.” The senators added that in the weeks ahead many of the comments will be incorporated into the draft of the legislation to reflect the views and voices of as many interested parties as possible. They closed the letter with an invitation to their colleagues in the Senate to join them in the process.

“We would deeply appreciate your willingness to share your expertise on the intersections between your committees’ jurisdictions, your states’ experiences, and comprehensive cannabis reform and invite you to join the process of perfecting this legislation,” they added. “We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue with you in the weeks ahead.”

But Brookings Institution senior fellow John Hudak recently told Bloomberg Government that the chance of passing comprehensive marijuana legalization does not appear strong.

“They see this as a real politically winning issue not just for themselves but also for the party as they approach the midterms,” Hudak said of Democrats in Congress. “But the challenge, even for the idea of bringing the bill up for debate, is that the votes just aren’t there.”

Some Democrats believe that separate bills that focus on different aspects of marijuana policy reform are the best route to making progress on the issue with Republicans and President Joe Biden. One bill, the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act from Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado, would allow financial institutions to offer banking services to cannabis businesses operating legally under state law. Last week, the House of Representatives approved the legislation for the sixth time, adding it to a bill designed to improve economic competitiveness with China.

“We know the president has been somewhat reluctant on this subject, so the incremental approach that we talked about earlier is probably a better one to present to the administration,” Perlmutter said last week.

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Yesterday was the deadline for the comment period on the draft version of the federal cannabis reform bill, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), and cannabis advocacy groups did not disappoint—with an avalanche of commentary rolling in before the time was up.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) signed on as lead sponsors for a sweeping bill to end the prohibition of cannabis at the federal level.

The draft version of the measure was released in July, which led to an open public comment period giving people time to weigh in on what will be the revised measure.

Several well-known cannabis advocacy organizations such as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) and the Marijuana Policy Project (MMP) released their comments.

The Marijuana Justice Coalition opted to send a joint letter on the legalization proposal. The Marijuana Justice Coalition is made up of members including the ACLU, Center for American Progress, Drug Policy Alliance, Human Rights Watch, Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, MoveOn, Students for Sensible Drug Policy and United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

In a 30-page comment document, NORML called for strengthening civic protections to provide justice to those previously wronged by federal marijuana criminalization and revising outdated employment policies. The organization also called for ensuring that small and local businesses can compete both with larger corporations and the illicit market by reducing regulatory and tax burdens. NORML also asked to narrow the scope of the proposed excise tax to exempt medical cannabis consumer markets and balance the roles of the FDA, TTB, ATF and antitrust regulators.

“We appreciate the leadership by Senators Schumer, Booker, and Wyden in their efforts to end America’s failed, unjust, and racially biased experiment with cannabis prohibition. The CAOA draft represents a thoughtful path forward toward ending federal marijuana criminalization. We are confident that similar language, once finalized and formally introduced in the US Senate, will possess bipartisan appeal — as we know that voters of all political parties strongly support repealing the federal government’s failed marijuana policies,” said NORML Political Director Justin Strekal. 

The summary of NORML’s discussion draft can be read here.

MPP also stressed the importance of easing restrictions on medical cannabis patients. MPP outlined two major areas of concern: the possible upending of state licensing and regulatory systems, which does nothing but drive sales underground, and the impact on medical cannabis access, including for those under the age of 21.

“We are grateful for the leadership of Sens. Booker, Schumer, and Wyden to end an eight-decades long policy failure and appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback as the sponsoring offices refine the bill,” said Karen O’Keefe, state policies director at MPP. Federal prohibition urgently needs to end. It has wasted billions of dollars while upending tens of thousands of lives—disproportionately those of Black and Brown Americans—over a plant that is safer than alcohol.

The NCIA stated that the CAOA presents a “thoughtful foundation for comprehensive cannabis policy reform that clearly illustrates the authors’ engagement with stakeholders during the drafting process.” Read the NCIA’s full draft of recommendations here.

“Ending nearly a century of disastrous prohibition policies is a monumental effort and one which should not be taken lightly,” said Aaron Smith, co-founder and chief executive officer of NCIA. “We appreciate Senate leadership for taking a big step toward that goal which a significant majority of Americans support. There is a lot of work left to be done and it is vital to include those most impacted by both prohibition and the proposed legislation in this process.”

The wave of commentary represents the importance of the bill and how the industry hinges upon those fine details.

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